


Welcome to Amestris, Agents

by Fullmetal_Bitch



Series: Alchemists meet Agents [4]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: A lot of OC's, Ed has a potty mouth, Ed!Whump, Gen, Hughes is mentioned, I spell 'Elicia' as 'Elysia', Lots of OC's, Technically the Lions and Paladins of Voltron are in this, Truth is an arse, Winry & Granny don't have big roles, and I'm really not that mean to him, but i'm not an alchemist, but not in person, but not until pretty far into the story, but that's nothing new, don't know what else to tag, honestly did my best with the alchemy stuff, it's not overly descriptive though, let me know if I need to add anything, seriously, there is some blood and stuff mentioned so be warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2019-12-29 18:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 377,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18300026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fullmetal_Bitch/pseuds/Fullmetal_Bitch
Summary: Mustang finds himself under suspicion for crimes he didn't commit and it's up to Ed, Al and his team to get him out of trouble. With pressure coming from his generals, Grumman has no choice but to issue an arrest warrant for Mustang. Help comes from an unexpected source but the pressure is on. They only have a week to figure out who is really behind the crimes or else Mustang will go on trial and face a firing squad. With the limited time frame and leads running into dead ends, can Ed and the team save Mustang?*Updates will be every week (Sunday - Australia time)*





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Two and a half months after New York:_

Mustang groaned as he read through the rather straight forward, if somewhat short, report one of the Corporals that had ‘assisted’ Edward on his latest mission had written and sent him. Mustang had learned early on in Edward’s rather destructive military career to have standing orders that at least one other military soldier was to submit a report to him so he would have an idea of what damages he would need to report to the Fuhrer so he could sign off on what the military would pay for and submit it to the treasury department. Mustang had realised that sometimes Edward either forgot – which given how much property damaged he sometimes caused, was entirely possible – or he simply neglected to put it on the report because he didn’t think it mattered that the building that was, in Edward’s words, one slight breeze away from falling over was used to cushion a bad guy’s fall. Mustang had tried very hard not to bang his head on his desk when Edward had told him that and he had issued the standing order to every military command or outpost by the time Edward had been sent on his next mission.

 

Mustang had – perhaps foolishly, it seemed – hoped that after their rather unexpected adventure to New York and working with the BAU that Edward would’ve learned to be a little more aware of his surroundings and stop using peoples cars as shields and weapons against the criminal he happened to be fighting. It didn’t help that Alphonse was out of hospital but not cleared to assist his brother with missions so Edward was even more anxious to get back to Central as quickly as possible, using any means to make that goal happen. Including using an alchemised stone pillar to launch a parked car at the alchemist, who successfully dodged it so it hit the shop behind the criminal but stepped right into Ed’s automail fist and was promptly arrested by the irate blonde. According to Corporal Jackson’s report, there were many complaints about how he could’ve just saved everyone a lot of time if he’d surrendered but no, he had to be a dick and put up a fight despite the fact he wouldn’t have won a fight against him. Mustang groaned once more. Ed was right but there was no reason the car and shop had to be damaged to win that fight. His phone rang and he picked it up without opening his eyes. It was his first day since his promotion to Brigadier-General yesterday and the phone rarely went fifteen minutes without ringing.

 

“Mustang,” He answered and was relieved and scared to hear his Captain’s voice on the other end of the line. His promotion had also come with a rise in the ranks for all of his team. Edward had been the only exception, telling Mustang to fuck off with his offer to promote him to Lieutenant-Colonel.

 

“The Elric brothers are here to see you, Sir.” Mustang almost sighed. It wasn’t a call to inform him there was more paperwork – something that seemed to have tripled thanks to his promotion – but at the same time he didn’t want to deal with Edward’s yelling at the moment.

 

“Send them in,” was all he said as he hung up the phone and glared at the report in front of him. He didn’t even have the time gather his strength to try and not respond to Edward as he normally did, something he admittedly was getting better at considering the teenager was much less likely to rage as much as before Promised Day. That didn’t mean the blonde took being told that his methods were too destructive for the military’s liking calmly.

 

“What up, Colonel Bastard?” Ed said as he entered the room. At least he didn’t kick his way in, another thing that had changed since Promised Day.

 

“Brigadier-General, brother,” Al reminded him as he shut the door behind them. Ed made a face.

 

“It doesn’t really roll off the tongue the same way. ‘Brigadier-General Bastard’. See? It doesn’t sound right,” Ed complained as he flopped onto the couch, barely wincing as his ribs and other minor injuries were jostled.

 

“Be nice, brother,” Al sighed as he knocked Ed’s feet off the couch so he could sit down next to Ed. Ed just put them in his brother’s lap. Al sighed but left it. Mustang gathered the report Corporal Jackson had sent and went to sit on the couch that faced the brothers.

 

“Being nice takes so much effort, Al, and I already have to put a lot of energy into not swearing around Elysia,” Ed whined softly as his brother chuckled and pet his knee soothingly. Mustang felt himself relax slightly. If Ed was this relaxed that he would joke with Al like that in front of him, maybe this wouldn’t go as badly as Mustang thought.

 

Thanks to their trip to New York and their time spent with the BAU where – at the start, anyway – the only person they could fully trust was the other alchemist, their relationship had grown stronger, if only a bit. Then there had been the anticipated fallout from their actions against Harding that had resulted in the rogue alchemist’s death. Edward had handled it in his usual fashion; refused to acknowledge it was a problem and became increasingly reckless on missions before pulling a stunt so dangerous, Mustang had cancelled any meetings he’d scheduled the day Ed was to report in, somehow got Hawkeye to agree to leave any paperwork he needed done from the time Ed was supposed to arrive until after Ed had left or the next day, depending on how quickly the issue was resolved. Mustang was under the impression that Hawkeye had only agreed because she liked Ed more than him but he didn’t want to be shot so he kept that thought quiet and merely thanked her. Edward had not taken the treatment lightly and Mustang was glad his newly built office was soundproof for this exact reason.

 

Once he’d realised that yelling at him wasn’t going to get him to open the door, Edward had threatened to alchemise a new door in the building and Mustang had told him he would only prolong the issue and cause Al even more stress. It was a very low blow but Mustang didn’t regret it since it got Edward to sit down. Then nearly an hour passed whether neither said anything before Ed broke down and told him what had been going on. There had been tears, apologies and advice given before they were finished and Mustang let him stay in the office for a little while longer so Ed could compose himself. They walked out to find only Hawkeye in the outer office and both looked at the clock and only then realised how long they’d been locked in the office. Hawkeye had simply looked at them, commented how she hoped she wouldn’t be filling out requisition forms for property damage and that she hoped they’d resolved their differences before reminding Mustang he had paperwork to finish tomorrow so he had better be on time to work.

 

Mustang liked to think that his and Edward’s relationship had only gotten stronger since then but he also knew how volatile the blonde was likely to be still. Their relationship was better and he trusted Ed was likely to come to him with any problem – professional or personal – a lot easier than before Promised Day but he also knew there was a part of the blonde that still believed that Mustang would abandon him or betray him or something else of the like. It didn’t help that, in public, Mustang still treated him like he had before Promised Day, if only a little better since neither of them was likely to fall for each other’s taunts like they had before.

 

“So, what’s the issue today, Mustang?” Ed’s demand broke Mustang out of his thoughts and brought him back to the present. Mustang shook his head slightly and gestured to the report he’d placed on the coffee table. Edward glanced at it before raising a brow at Mustang in question.

 

“I need your report, Fullmetal.” Ed groaned as he sat up, swinging his feet out of his brother’s lap before reaching into his red coat’s pocket and pulling out some papers and handing them over. Mustang accepted them with an annoyed scowl at their condition before reading them quickly.

 

“At least it matches Corporal Jacksons,” Mustang sighed as he put it down. He didn’t miss Edward’s scowl or the casual way Al gripped his brother’s arm to stop him yelling straight away. Mustang was grateful. “Can you tell me why you decided it was necessary to throw a car into a shop? Because I certainly didn’t read anything in yours or Jacksons’ reports that told me there was no other way than catapulting a civilians car at the criminal to stop him.” Mustang couldn’t stop the slight snark that came through with his words and he could see Al tighten his grip a little.

 

“How would _you_ have dealt with that dick then? Assuming you didn’t have your flame alchemy?” Ed asked, voice barely below scathing, as he crossed his arms and glared at Mustang.

 

“Why didn’t you just use the stone pillar to try and stop him? That’s what I would’ve done,” Mustang told him and Ed scoffed.

 

“The only reason that idiot didn’t see me coming was because I used something big to throw at him. He couldn’t see me move around the car and ambush him when he dodged,” Ed pointed out like it was something obvious and Mustang could give him that but he’d never admit it.

 

“Why not construct a stone slab to throw at him then?” Mustang parried back and Ed raised a brow.

 

“You mean ‘why did I choose the less-than-a-tonne car as opposed to making a two or three tonne stone block to throw at the person who I knew would dodge which means the shop behind him would be hit’? Gee, let me think,” Ed said sarcastically. Even Al winced at the amount of sarcasm Ed put in those last four words.

 

“You could’ve made it lighter or hollow,” Mustang said, feeling his temper rise at the rate it normally did when dealing with an argumentative Edward.

 

“Except I would’ve had to be more careful with how much force I put behind it or risk him figuring it out and destroying it and damaging more property.” Ed pointed out. “He is one of the better stone alchemists out there,” Ed begrudgingly admitted while rubbing his shoulder. The rogue alchemist had managed to land a good hit there. He was not very appreciative of the nasty bruise there.

 

“You can’t keep causing so much in property damage, Fullmetal! The military can’t afford to keep covering it!” Mustang snapped, his temper having got the better of him. Ed’s eyes widened in shock before narrowing almost immediately.

 

“Next time you think you could cause less damage than me, _you_ take the fucking case!” Ed snarled as Al tried to keep the situation from getting worse.

 

“That wouldn’t help since you wouldn’t be learning the lesson! Maybe I should see if the Fuhrer will take some, if not all, of the costs out of your pay! You might learn something that way!” Mustang suggested scathingly and Ed was about to growl out a response when the phone rang. “We’re not done here. Don’t you dare go anywhere,” Mustang told him as he stood and strode over to his desk. “Mustang,” he bit out when he answered before frowning. “Did they say what they wanted?” A pause before “Put them through.”

 

Ed and Al were having a whispered argument while Mustang was on the phone. He only had to wait a few moments before the phone clicked and the person on the other end of the line told him why they were calling him. He barely contained his sigh before responding, telling the soldier that he’d send someone out right away. The soldier thanked him before Mustang hung up.

 

“We’ll discuss this further, Fullmetal,” Mustang said before facing the brothers. “There’s a suspicious death out near the pub on East Street. Go assist with it until they figure out if it was an intentional or an accidental death,” Mustang ordered. He saw the mulish expression on the blonde’s face and knew their unfinished argument was about to bite him in the arse.

 

“Why don’t _you_ go and investigate it? I would _hate_ to cause some unnecessary property damage for the military to deal with,” Ed snarked and Al facepalmed from behind him. “Better yet, why don’t we go with you? Wouldn’t want to pass up the opportunity to watch a _master investigator_ in action, now would we?” Al looked like he was considering praying.

 

“Fine.” Ed’s shocked face almost made the lecture he was going to get from Hawkeye worth it. “Let’s go,” he said, heading for his coat rack and snatching his jacket before walking out, the two Elric brothers following suit. He didn’t notice them giving the team an ‘I dunno look’ as they walked to the door. “I’ll be back for my 2pm,” Mustang said, risking a glance at Hawkeye and yup – he’d probably end up with a bullet lodged somewhere in his body when he gets back.

* * *

 

 The walk to the military car lot was quiet and Mustang could still sense the general ‘what the fuck’ feel coming from the two brothers but he didn’t say a word, except to requisition a car and a driver for a couple of hours. Private Parton was their driver and Mustang gave him the address they were needed at as he and the boys climbed into the back seat.

 

“Alright, we give. What the fuck, Mustang?” Ed asked with his usual tact.

 

“You said you wanted to see a ‘master investigator’ – if I remember correctly – in action,” Mustang reminded him.

 

“Yeah but that doesn’t explain why _you’re_ with us. Now, if you were Miss Riza, that would make more sense,” Ed told him and Mustang thought he heard a suspicious sounding cough coming from their driver. Mustang chose to be the bigger man and ignore him.

 

“How is your recovery going, Alphonse? I’m sorry I didn’t ask earlier,” Mustang said instead. Both Mustang and Al ignored Ed’s muttered ‘nice change in subject’ as the elder Elric leaned back in his seat more.

 

“I’m doing a lot better, Sir. Thank you for asking. I have a doctor’s appointment in two weeks’ time to see if I can be cleared to accompany brother on his missions once more,” Al told him excitedly. Ed’s features softened slightly, as did Mustang’s. Both of them knew the other would never call them out on it. It was one of the few times they didn’t mention anything about the other showing the slightest bit of weakness.

 

“That’s very good to hear, Alphonse. I hope it goes well for you,” Mustang smiled gently and was rewarded with the younger blonde smiling back. Being able to see Al show any kind of emotion was still something the team wasn’t quite used to yet.

 

“Thank you, Sir,” Al said as Ed nudged his foot and nodded out of the car’s window. Mustang looked to see what he’d spotted and noted they were driving down East Street now.

 

“We’re here, Sir,” Private Parton said right on time. “Would you like me to remain here with the car, Sir?” Mustang thought it over.

 

“Yes. I doubt we’ll be too long,” Mustang said and Parton nodded as the rest of them climbed out. The smell hit them first, even though the body was further in the alley.

 

“Oh,” Ed said as soon as he’d shut his door. “No wonder they called you.” All joking was gone as both Ed and Mustang tried to hide their reaction to the charred meat scent on the air.

 

“What is it?” Al asked, confused. Ed winced. His brother hadn’t been exposed to this kind of thing much. Even when he was in the armour, Ed had tried to hide as much of the death side of the military from him as he could.

 

“Burnt body,” Ed whispered back to him and he heard Al’s sharp inhale. “Don’t ask me right now, Al. I don’t think I can answer,” Ed said quietly, not looking at Al or Mustang. He heard Al’s quiet noise of protest and he saw Mustang’s worried expression for the moment he allowed it show before the mask was back in place just as the lead investigator on the scene approached them.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang?” The woman asked as she stuck her hand out for Mustang to shake. Mustang did. “I’m Lieutenant-Colonel Granger,” she said before eyeing up the two boys. “The Fullmetal Alchemist, I presume?” She asked, presenting her hand for Ed to shake.

 

“Yup,” he said as he shook her hand before gesturing to Al. “This is my younger brother, Alphonse.”

 

“Pleasure.” She said, shaking Al’s hand before facing Mustang. “He was discovered roughly thirty minutes ago by the waitress who had come in to set the restaurant for its lunch service. First responders arrived but pronounced him dead at the scene. They ended up taking the waitress to the hospital for shock. Coroner should be here any moment to hopefully give us time and cause of death. If you would follow me?” She asked before giving them really no choice. The three followed, though Ed did suggest Al stay at the mouth of the alleyway. Al just followed him and Ed didn’t argue. Stubborn may be one of the first words you come up with to describe Edward but it was certainly a trait present in both Elrics.

 

The body was half burnt, the mid-torso and up was charred enough that the man wasn’t recognisable. Both Ed and Mustang took a deep breath before steadying their stomachs and steeling their nerves so they could crouch next to the body to get a closer look. Al took a few steps back and focused on his breathing for a moment. No one blamed him. There were other officers milling about, taking photos of everything and hunting for potential witnesses. Lieutenant-Colonel Granger stood a respectful distance away before the sound of a vehicle pulling up caught her attention and she motioned for a nearby Captain to go and lead the person through.

 

“That will be the coroner. What are your thoughts, Sirs?” She asked as the two men straightened.

 

“That burn pattern is weird, right?” Ed asked, not worried about seeming like he knew everything for the moment. This was something he’d only ever dealt with the one time and he’d barely glimpsed Harding’s body after he’d destroyed one of the walls that had trapped the mutated alchemist.

 

“Yes. It appears something flammable was tipped or spilled on his head and face. See how the burn isn’t as severe on the back of his head and neck?” Mustang pointed out. Ed nodded. “Since we’re in an area known for its pubs and nightlife, I’d hazard a guess he went out drinking,” Ed and Mustang moved aside to let the coroner through before Mustang continued, “last night and either had a drink splashed in his face just before stumbling out here or spilled some alcohol onto himself. It’s possible he came out here for a cigarette, lit it up and the fumes caught fire,” Mustang said. “If there’s a head wound, it could be caused by him trying to escape the flames, jerking back and hitting the wall hard enough to stun or knock himself clean out,” Mustang suggested to the coroner. The man nodded as he started working.

 

“Ed, Brigadier-General Mustang?” Al’s voice sounded and both men turned to see what was wrong. He pointed to a dark brown, half-broken, half-melted bottle of whiskey everyone had overlooked a few feet from the body.

 

“Private Wilson! Photograph and bag this,” Granger called, waving the man with the camera over and gesturing to the bottle. Wilson immediately did as he was told, softly asking Al to move as he snapped the photos needed before producing a bag and using a gloved hand, placed it inside and scribbling something on it before heading to the parked cars to place it in the growing box of evidence. As per protocol, this death would be treated as suspicious until the investigators were told otherwise.

 

“I have the man’s wallet, Sir, Ma’am,” The coroner interrupted them, handing it to the gloved Lieutenant-Colonel, who immediately opened it and looked for his identification.

 

“It seems like he was in the military as well. Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Chambers,” Granger told them and Mustang immediately stiffened.

 

“What did he do for the military? I’ve never heard of him,” Ed asked before anyone else could say anything.

 

“He was an assessor for the State Alchemy program. It was his job to sort through applications. Those he approved would go on to actually sit the exam. Those he rejected would be given the reason but were free to apply once they felt like they could,” Granger told him. Ed and Al nodded however the clearing of a throat had them looking at Mustang.

 

“I apologise, Lieutenant-Colonel. Fullmetal and I will need to excuse ourselves from this investigation,” Mustang told her. Ed looked surprised while Granger looked suspicious.

 

“May I ask why, Brigadier-General, Sir?” Her voice was polite enough but there was an undercurrent of thirst to know sounding there.

 

“Yeah, what gives?” Ed asked, sounded annoyed and confused. No one commented on the soft ‘brother’ coming from behind them.

 

“Three weeks ago, Chambers denied an alchemist I had recommended to the State Alchemy program for having a minor assault charge for a street brawl on his record. Chambers and I got into an argument because I pointed out that it shouldn’t affect him, not under Fuhrer Grumman’s new rules since the man hadn’t started the altercation, hadn’t resisted his arrest or the charges and had served the time he’d been sentenced. Chambers had still declined his application and refused to budge in his decision. This alchemist would be an asset to the military, something I tried to argue as well, and I threatened to take this matter higher if Chambers refused to change his mind or supply a reason under Fuhrer Grumman’s new rules as to why the alchemist couldn’t be approved,” Mustang explained. Ed vaguely wondered who this new alchemist was considering he was the only one – as far as he knew, anyway – that Mustang had ever recommended. “I filed the necessary paperwork last week and was expecting the results of the inquisition sometime late next week. As far as I knew, Chambers was planning on filing paperwork to accuse me of using my position to push through unfit applications but I don’t know for certain how true that accusation is,” Mustang told her before gesturing to Ed. “I’m ordering Fullmetal to stay away from this for the same reason. I don’t think you would appreciate all your hard work being thrown out because the defence argues conflict of interest when you finally manage to find the killer and this case goes to trial since this is no longer an accidental death.” Granger sighed before nodding.

 

“Thank you for your assistance, Brigadier-General Mustang, Major Elric, but I believe you are correct in this matter,” Granger said. The three turned to leave, Al having stayed silent during the exchange, when Granger spoke up again. “If I may ask before you leave, Sir; why do you believe this to no longer be the accidental scenario you described earlier? With the spilled whiskey and cigarette?” Granger asked, puzzled at his wording when he told them why he was having Ed not stay involved in the case.

 

“Chambers wasn’t a smoker and was very vocal about his displeasure for anyone who did,” Mustang told her and she nodded. She watched as the three retreated and climbed back in their car. 

* * *

 

As it pulled away, Granger had the thought that Mustang was right to pull himself and his subordinate back from this case. If he’d stayed on and that information had come to light, he would’ve been accused of trying to influence the investigation away from himself and frame someone else. She, of course, would have to investigate his story further and ask him for his alibi for the early hours of this morning and last night, assuming the coroner could give her time of death. It didn’t slip by her that given the way the victim appeared to have been killed and what Mustang had just told her, the Brigadier-General likely would’ve been her first stop so she could clear him and move on to other suspects. After all, Brigadier-General Mustang wouldn’t have had anything to do with this.

 

The same thoughts were crossing the minds of those who had heard Mustang. He would’ve definitely been a suspect but the man was a war hero and one of those who were vital to the plans to defeat Father. There’s no way he would have killed a man like this because of a silly argument that was already being resolved legally. The investigative team all mentally shook their heads as they got back to work. As disappointing as it was not having Mustang’s knowledge or Edward’s help on the matter, they still had a job to do. 

* * *

“Brother?” Al asked as they left Central Command. Mustang had dismissed Ed almost as soon as Private Parton had pulled the car into its spot and headed back up to the office without wanting to discuss Ed’s most recent mission. Edward didn’t argue.

 

“Yeah, Al?” Ed asked as they headed back to Gracia’s.

 

“Are you alright?” Al asked and they both knew exactly why he was. Harding’s death had messed him up to the point that Mustang had been worried enough to stage an intervention to get the reason for his recklessness. Neither of them were idiots; both had known why Ed was acting that way but Mustang had understood that Ed wouldn’t say anything until he wanted to. He’d been forced to act as he did when Edward had nearly gotten himself blown up because he’d taunted the criminal far more than necessary.

 

“I think so. It was more of a shock but I think I was kind of expecting it, you know? Why else would they call Mustang out personally?” Ed said as they crossed the street. “I mean, everyone knows he’s only called in when there’s a fire or something similar so I’d already suspected that’s what we’d be going to see,” Ed told him before shaking his head and scoffing. “Still didn’t mean I was ready to be hit with that, though,” Ed said almost too quietly to be heard.

 

“It’s weird that it was someone the Brigadier-General knew and was arguing with though, wasn’t it?” Al hummed thoughtfully. Ed shrugged.

 

“You heard what the bastard said. Chambers, or whatever his name was, had turned that alchemist down for a dumb reason. If he’d done something like that to someone that was recommended by Mustang, imagine what he’d done to those that came with no egotistical Colonels or Generals recommendations?” Ed asked rhetorically. “I’m glad I’m not in charge of that case though. I don’t envy Granger at all,” He admitted.

 

“Why’s that, brother?” Al asked and Ed smirked.

 

“Can you imagine me listening to dozens of whiny alchemists telling me their sob stories about how they were turned away? Most of them would probably ask me to recommend them then they’d get pissy when I don’t. You know how well I deal with people like that,” Ed told him, full on grinning as his brother laughed.

 

“Yes, it’s probably for the best Mustang pulled you away. I don’t think he’d appreciate all of the paperwork you would cause him for punching that many people,” Al said, racing out of Ed's reach when his brother had yelled an indignant 'HEY!' before he tore after him. They were still chuckling as they continued down the street, heading back for Gracia Hughes' apartment so they'd be back in time to look after Elysia as they'd promised.


	2. Chapter 2

It had taken him three weeks to finally catch up on all of his paperwork. He had been staying at the office for an hour or so later than necessary and coming into work an hour earlier so he could try and get through all of the paperwork that had accumulated while he was with Edward in space and fighting the Galran plus he still had his normal amount of paperwork for the day to get through. He’d set a routine. The accumulated paperwork would be worked on for the morning. Then he’d have his lunch break before tackling the paperwork he’d given that day. He wouldn’t leave the office until it was done, knowing just how closely Hawkeye had been to shooting him when he and Edward had gotten home. He wasn’t willing to risk pushing her the little bit she needed to put a new bullet hole in him by complaining or missing even one piece of paper so he kept his head down and worked his fingers to the bone.

 

After the last morning of playing catch up, he had nearly cheered as he signed his name to the last piece of paperwork with a flourish and taking the pile to Hawkeye for her to send it to whoever it needed to go to before heading out of the offices to get himself a burger and fries from a small take-out shop two blocks from Central Command. He headed back into the office to eat his celebratory meal in peace, enjoying a quick nap after finishing his lunch. He was awoken when Hawkeye walked in with today’s fresh paperwork and he took it without complaint.

 

“Thought you would want to know. Captain Chase Bryce was found dead in an alleyway near The Amestrian on Port Street. Reports say the coroner is tentatively ruling it accidental since the man had reportedly been rather inebriated the previous night and there’s evidence of a head wound. It appears he stepped out for a cigarette, knocked himself out by falling over and the lit cigarette ignited his clothing.” Hawkeye reported as she placed the paperwork in front of him, once he’d cleared the rubbish off of his desk.

 

“That’s a bit of a strange coincidence.” Mustang said and Hawkeye raised a brow so he elaborated. “I’ve known Bryce since our academy days but we’ve never gotten along. But last night I decided to grab a drink on my way home and stopped in at The Amestrian. I saw Bryce while I was there. He was harassing the poor barmaid so I intervened and told him to knock it off. He recognised me and tried to start a fight but I ignored him. Security finally had to come and throw him out because he got too rowdy. I left soon after but I never saw or smelled anything.” Mustang told her and she hummed.

 

“That is an unusual coincidence. Do you want me to reach out to the investigator to let them know you had an altercation with Bryce the night before he died?” Hawkeye asked but Mustang shook his head.

 

“No. The investigator should be the one to reach out and if they’re doing their job properly, they will.” Mustang told her and she gave a sharp nod.

 

“Very well, Sir. These need to be finished by tonight.” Hawkeye told him before turning on her heel and heading out of the office. Mustang sighed and pulled the new pile closer to him. One more afternoon of aching fingers and he’d go back to his routine from before Voltron.

 

Hawkeye knocked on his office door only a couple of hours later. Mustang frowned as he permitted her entrance, not sure what she was after since she knew he would be working on the day’s paperwork to get in done so he might get home at a reasonable hour for the first time in three weeks.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes here to see you, Sir. It’s in regard to Captain Bryce’s death.” She told him. Mustang slightly raised a brow but nodded, giving his permission for the man to be let through.

 

Mustang watched as Lieutenant-Colonel Charlie Brookes walked in through his door. The man was only a couple of years younger than Mustang himself but he had a slightly nervous demeanour about him. Mustang and Hawkeye had met him a couple of years ago when he had been a newly promoted Lieutenant-Colonel. The man had sort Mustang out to offer his condolences about Maes and to tell them he had been asked to head the department. When Mustang had asked the man why he was bothering to tell them when news would undoubtedly reach them within a few days of his appointment. Brookes had told him that if he was Mustang, he would want the person who was taking over his best friends’ role to tell him themselves.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes.” Mustang greeted as he leant back in his chair, nodding at Hawkeye, who left the office, shutting the door behind her. “What can I do for you?” He gestured for the man to take a seat on one of his couches. Brookes accepted and Mustang moved from his desk to the other couch so he could face the man.

 

“I’m assuming you’ve been informed of Captain Chase Bryce’s death?” Brookes asked and Mustang nodded. “Right now, the working theory for the coroner is that the man was very inebriated, went into the back alley behind The Amestrian, tripped over something when he lit his cigarette, knocked himself out and the cigarette ignited some spilled alcohol on his clothing. Since he was unconscious and no one was out there with him, he burned to death.” Brookes told him and noted the flash of pity in the Brigadier-General’s eyes.

 

“While that is an unfortunate way to go, I’m not entirely sure what you’re here for?” Mustang said. Brookes nodded.

 

“Until the coroner makes his ruling definite, we have to assume this was a suspicious death and investigate accordingly, as I’m sure you’re already aware.” Brookes said. Mustang dipped his chin. He was well aware of how Investigations ran, thanks to Hughes. “We interviewed several people who were in The Amestrian last night and most of them indicated that you and Bryce had had an altercation. Would you tell me about that?” Brookes asked and Mustang felt a small surge of pride at being proven right.

 

“I’d finished my work last night at 10:15 last night and decided to grab a nightcap or two from The Amestrian since it was on my way home. I believe I entered the establishment some time between 10:30 and 10:45pm. I had my first drink and was indicating for a second when I noticed Bryce.” Mustang told him, eyes glazing a little as he let himself recall the previous night. “He was trying to pick up the barmaid. She was very clearly not interested in him but he was refusing to take her rejection as it was. She was trying to move passed him once she had delivered the drinks on her tray and he grabbed her arm and started yelling at her. That’s when I intervened.” Mustang told him. Brookes was writing in a small notebook.

 

“What happened next?” Brookes asked, eyes flicking up to meet Mustang’s before focusing back on his notepad.

 

“Well, he didn’t take it very well, especially once he recognised me. We attended the academy together, you see. We never got along there either. I think he thought I thought I was better than the other soldiers in the academy because I could use alchemy. I wasn’t the only soldier in our group who could use alchemy but I was the most powerful and I think he thought I was getting special treatment because of that. Nothing could’ve been further from the truth but I paid no mind to the rumours since I didn’t think much of him. Trust me when I say that the way he treated the barmaid last night was not uncommon behavior for him.” Mustang told him. “I told him to knock the behavior off since the lady wasn’t interested in him and he told me to fuck off. Or at least, that’s what I think he was saying. He wasn’t very coherent at that point. He slurred more of what I believed were insults then took a swing at me when I didn’t react to his words. He missed by a mile but it was enough for security to kick him out. I think that was at 11:15 or so. I had my second drink and left a few minutes later after settling my tab and checking on the barmaid. I was home by 11:40pm.” Brookes nodded as he jotted the information down.

 

“And you didn’t see, hear or smell anything when you left the tavern?” Brookes asked.

 

“No. I’ll admit that I had expected Bryce to be outside when I left but when he wasn’t, I figured he’d stumbled off to another pub. I didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary and I’m far more familiar with the smell of a burned body than anyone should be. I didn’t smell anything like that when I left.” Brookes winced slightly at the subtle mention of the Ishvalen Civil War. He hadn’t been involved in the conflict since he’d joined the military the year it ended but that didn’t mean he didn’t know what had happened.

 

“Alright. I think that’s all I need to know.” Brookes stood up as he spoke, tucking his notepad away. “Thank you for your time, Brigadier-General Mustang.” Brookes stretched out his hand and Mustang grasped it tightly.

 

“You’re welcome, Lieutenant-Colonel. Let me know if you need to ask any more questions. Best of luck with your investigation.” Mustang said and the man tipped his head in thanks before leaving the inner office.

 

Mustang moved back to his desk and had just sat back in his leather chair and grabbed his pen when Hawkeye entered his office once more, though this time he knew why. He waited for her to approach his desk before looking up at her and raising a silent brow. She gave him a flat look and he sighed before leaning back, twirling his pen in between his fingers.

 

“Brookes just needed my statement for what happened between myself and Captain Bryce last night. The coroner hasn’t made his ruling yet though he’d suggesting it could be an accident so Brookes has to investigate it as suspicious until told otherwise. Some of the patrons last night told him about our altercation and he needed to follow up.” Mustang told her.

 

“Very well. Don’t forget that paperwork still needs to be done today, Sir.” Hawkeye said before offering a salute and taking her leave. Mustang sighed forcefully through his nose but got back to the paperwork in front of him. 

* * *

 

 

Just over two weeks later, reports that a Major Colin Pardi had been found murdered and his corpse burned had reached Mustang’s office, mainly because of the man’s status as a State Alchemist. Edward had been in the office when the report came in and had looked it over with Mustang since neither man was familiar enough with Pardi’s name to know who he was. Evidently, he had been approved as a State Alchemist because of his ability to strengthen any earth or stone structures. His ability had been very helpful during the main rebuilding efforts, often saving builders hours of work with one simple transmutation. He’d been sent to Ishval for the first three or so months, partly as sign of good faith that Amestris was just as serious about rebuilding Ishval as the Ishvalens were and partly because Fuhrer Grumman had believed the man would be better suited to helping them with his alchemy since Amestrian homes weren’t all made from stone or earth.

 

Ed had said that Scar had mentioned him once or twice in the letters the redeemed serial killer had been sending him. Mustang still wasn’t used to the fact that Ed was willingly writing a man who had once been dead-set on killing him and that they seemed to be becoming friends. The blonde then produced a letter from one of his inner pockets and read through it before showing Mustang what had caused him to make a victorious sound.

 

“See? Scar wanted me to pass along his gratitude to Pardi and Grumman for the aid Pardi had provided Ishval. The structures he’d created were a lot stronger and much sturdier than anything the Ishvalens could’ve come up with.” Ed told him even as Mustang read the information himself.

 

“Why does he mean - ‘despite my personal feelings about the man’?” Mustang asked as he passed the letter back to the blonde without reading anything more in the letter, despite his desire to know what else his youngest subordinate talks about with the redeemed serial killer.

 

“Pardi was alright to start with but as he learned more and more about what actually happened to the Ishvalens during the war, he grew more and more aggravated about the events. Scar said that it was like he was getting personally offended by what happened. At first, it seemed like Pardi was upset that someone managed to manipulate two races with one move so one race could wipe the other out but then Scar told me that Pardi was getting upset because the Ishvalens had agreed to the pardons. It was like he refused to believe that the Ishvalens would forgive Amestris after everything, even though we were manipulated like the Ishvalens and the Ishvalens now have a treaty with Amestris that is heavily in their favour.” Ed told him. “In the end, Scar and a few of the elders had to ask Pardi to stop ranting about how the Ishvalens should be trying to get justice, that the pardons were nothing but an insult and they should demand an equal blood payment. Scar said that that’s why he was sent back to Amestris. The Ishvalen elders were worried about their people attacking Pardi.” Ed said as he folded up his letter and placed it back in his pocket.

 

That’s when it struck Mustang where he knew the man’s name from. Sometime while he and Edward were on their latest adventure, the man had returned to Amestris and was causing a major problem with his protests about Ishval. He had been demanding that Mustang and those who had fought alongside him during the Eastern conflict deserved to be imprisoned for war crimes and he’d only been yelling louder when he was continually told that Grumman had pardoned everyone who had fought in Ishval so they couldn’t be prosecuted for war crimes. Pardi had seemed to grow even more enraged when he was constantly reminded that Grumman had done this with the Ishvalens consent when he publicly revealed that Ishval had been a set-up, orchestrated by the same group behind Promised Day.

 

“It’s weird though.” Ed murmured out loud as his golden eyes raked over the report hungrily.

 

“What is?” Mustang asked and the blonde gave him an incredulous look.

 

“Two fire related deaths in less than three weeks? Both of them military and found in an alley? That’s weird.” Ed told him and Mustang was momentarily confused before he remembered Bryce.

 

“I don’t argue that it’s odd but if the deaths were connected, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes would’ve put the two together by now.” Mustang told him. “Besides, Captain Bryce’s death was ruled an accidental death, caused by an unfortunate string of events.” Mustang reminded him.

 

“It’s still weird.” Ed huffed as Mustang rolled his eyes before he closed the file on Pardi’s death and made a note to remember that the man would need to be removed from the list of active field State Alchemists. “Why am I actually here?” Ed asked as he straightened from where he’d been leaning his hip against Mustang’s desk.

 

“New mission for you. Read the report and tell me what you need.” Mustang told him, handing him said report and directing him to the couch. Ed harrumphed at him, his eyes suddenly glazing over silently – a sign Mustang knew meant he was talking to the Lions, a fact he still couldn’t believe Ed could do, especially because of the distance – before the blonde grinned humourously and slouched on his favourite couch, delving into the contents contained in the file given him.

 

It always left Mustang in awe that Edward still had contact with the five Lions of Voltron, especially considering the fact that they were now in different dimensions. Mustang would admit that he really hadn’t believed Ed when he’d first announced they were still connected to him when they’d arrived back in Amestris but he knew it was true. Ed simply wouldn’t have the patience to keep up with a joke for as long as this and there were signs, like his eyes glazing over whenever he spoke to the Lions or when he passed along a message from one of the Lions or Paladins to Mustang.

 

Personally, Mustang was glad that Edward had the Lions’ support, especially after the way that Edward had killed Haggar with his automail blade. The younger alchemist had been even more distraught in the wake of the witch’s death than he had been after assisting in the death of Harding back in America, so the fact that the Lions were there to comfort, tease, and support him was reassuring. He just hoped that Edward would accept their help where he might not accept the help of Alphonse, Gracia, or his commanding officer. Overall, he’d been seeing increasing signs of maturity from Edward since their return from assisting the Lions and their Paladins, and that was something that he welcomed whole-heartedly. The black-haired alchemist sighed as he glanced over at the blonde, who was now actually focused on the report, before using the quiet to get a few more papers read and signed. 

* * *

 

 

Lieutenant-Colonel Charlie Brookes sighed as he walked into the third alley to investigate another burned body. This one was the third found, only 12 days after the second one and he felt like his gut instinct that these two cases were connected and that the death of Bryce had been incorrectly ruled as an accident and was in fact this killer’s first victim had been proven correct. He directed his team to collect and photograph evidence, talk to potential witnesses and the owners and workers of the surrounding businesses to see if they’d heard anything. The burnt remains of the blue military uniform told him that he was looking at another soldier and faintly wondered if the killer was simply taking out military men. He shook his head as the coroner turned up and immediately handed over the man’s wallet and identification.

 

“Colonel James Summers.” Brookes read the man’s identification out loud. “47 years old. Male.” He told the coroner.

 

“I’ll get him back to the morgue and let you know my findings when I make them.” The coroner told him and Brookes nodded, allowing his assistant through so the two men could wrap the body and load it into the coroner’s vehicle. Brookes sighed as he watched the van pull away and continued helping his men process where the body had been laying.

 

Once he was back at his little office, he immediately pulled up Colonel Summers file and poured over it. His mother was still alive and he knew he needed to go and pay her a visit to break the bad news. Another look in his file showed that his father had passed away only six months prior after a brief but intense battle with lung cancer. Brookes sighed and let himself feel a pang of sympathy for the elderly woman he was about to visit to deliver the second lot of the worst news she could receive.

 

Brookes found himself at the front door of the small, sturdy, tidy home and raised his fist to knock. He could hear the quick-paced shuffling and small huffs of breath before the door opened and he came face to face with Mrs. Summers smiling face. The expression dimmed a little when she didn’t recognise him immediately but she didn’t look concerned.

 

“Can I help you?” She asked, eyes flicking down to take in his uniform and he saw the brief flash of fear before she steeled herself.

 

“I’m here about your son, Colonel James Summers. May I come in?” Brookes asked and she nodded, door opening up wider to permit him entrance. She didn’t say a word and Brookes could see her eyes were starting to water as she followed his suggestion to sit down. “I’m very sorry to tell you, ma’am, but we found your son dead this morning. We believe he was murdered.” Brookes broke the bad news and felt his heart clench and his own eyes prick warmly as the woman broke into heart-wrenching, wailing sobs. Brookes waited for the woman to get some control over herself so she could ask the question he knew would be coming.

 

“Who? Who would m-murder my -s-son?” She asked, sobbing slowing enough for her to make a coherent sentence.

 

“We don’t know yet, ma’am. I was hoping you would be able to tell me if your son had any significant enemies we should know about? Anyone he didn’t get along with or had a major argument with recently?” Brookes asked and Mrs. Summers rubbed her face as she thought over his questions. The tears never stopped rolling down her cheeks.

 

“I don’t know much about his life in the military. His father and I were never very supportive of his career choice. We didn’t oppose him joining but we didn’t encourage him either so he never told us much.” She sounded apologetic, even as she wept. “I know he had been complaining a couple of months ago about a young Colonel being promoted to Brigadier-General. He believed the man was too young for such a promotion and it was only because of his alchemy and the State Alchemist under his command that he got the promotion. James believed the Fuhrer had been playing favourites since his granddaughter is also a subordinate under the man’s lead.” Mrs. Summers told him, sniffling and reaching for a box of tissues. Brookes handed them to her.

 

“Thank you, Mrs. Summers. That information will help us. Is there anyone you would like me to call for you?” Brookes asked but the elderly lady shook her head. “I’ll leave my name and number for you to call if you remember anything else or need anything at all. Please don’t hesitate to call.” He told her and she nodded. He placed his card next to her old phone and was startled when she walked him to the door. “I’m very sorry for your loss, ma’am.” He told her as he stepped out over the threshold. He heard the door click softly behind him and the slow shuffle the woman made across her worn, wooden floors back to her couch.

 

Brookes heaved a sigh as he made his way back to his waiting car. He got into the vehicle, started the engine and pulled away from the Summers’ home. This was the third victim found killed in the same way in just under a month. Brookes was convinced that Bryce was a victim and not a random accident. The coincidences were too great to ignore. All three were found dead in an alleyway. All three were burned with no obvious signs of an accelerant or ignition point and the coroner had yet to get his tests results on the charred material of their clothing back. All three were in the military and all three were men. But the biggest clincher was the fact that all three had some kind of issue or problem with Brigadier-General Mustang.

 

Brookes shook his head. There was no way that Mustang was the person behind these attacks, as the actual killer or the orchestrator. The man was a decorated war hero twice over. Why would he risk his career, reputation and freedom killing three men who had what was a slight problem, all things considered. Brookes shook his head to clear it once more. No, this had nothing to do with Mustang. It was more likely the victims were chosen because they were military men or something like that. 

* * *

 

 

As he pulled his car into his parking space, Brookes climbed out and headed to his office, nodding to soldiers that he passed along the way. His mind was still swimming with what Mrs. Summers had told him and all of the other information from each case was trying to swarm in front of his minds eye, making connections between random bits of information for him to consider or dismiss. The one thing that kept coming back to the forefront of his mind was the connection to Mustang each of the victim’s had.

 

He made it to his office door and entered, nodding to his team as he walked through to his desk. Sheska had been offered the opportunity to stay in her position as Brookes’ secretary and she had accepted the offer gratefully, afraid that her boss’ death meant she might not get to keep her job and would be forced to move her mother out of the hospital she was in. Sheska passed him all the messages he had accumulated throughout his absence and he thanked her before entering his office and sitting at his desk with a sigh.

 

Most of the messages were ones he’s been expecting. A call from the coroner’s office to say the coroner had arrived back with Summers’ body. Several messages from soldiers who were out following up leads for him and his team, calling back to say none of them had panned out or had resulted in similar answers the investigation into Pardi’s death had come up with. Rubbing his temples, Brookes leaned into his hands, resting his elbows on his desk and breathed for a few moments before organising his thoughts.

 

The first thing he did once he’d gotten his thoughts in order was call the coroner back and ask him to double check his findings on Bryce’s death to make sure it wasn’t connected to Pardi or Summers. Once the man had agreed to do so – even if he sounded slightly offended that his ruling was being questioned – Brookes had moved on to writing a new report for the Generals. He needed their permission to pursue this as a serial killer rather than three unconnected deaths. He told them everything he had dug up so far that connected the victims, which was, admittedly, not much. They were all military, all men and all of them had a problem with Brigadier-General Mustang in some way. As someone who had to deal with the Generals displeasure about Mustang being promoted, he didn’t want to put the man’s name in the report at all but he knew how much backlash the investigation – or lack thereof – into 2nd Lieutenant Maria Ross had garnered and didn’t want this investigation to suffer because he refused to put Mustang’s name in the report simply because he didn’t believe the man had anything to do with the deaths.

 

After he’d submitted the report, he decided to take the initiative and proceeded as though the Generals had given him permission and thought about his next step. Which would be to investigate the link that connected the victims which would mean he would need to talk to Brigadier-General Mustang. Sighing, he picked up his phone and dialed Mustang’s extension. The man picked up after two rings and after a brief talk, Mustang said he would be free in an hour if he wanted to come then to talk to him. Brookes thanked him and told him he would be by then.

 

For half an hour, Brookes worked on paperwork and having Sheska run in between departments to gather any new information they’d come up with. He ran down any leads he could from his office and checked on his team’s progress. Once he’d passed the time he needed too, he headed for the Brigadier-General’s office. The walk was quiet and peaceful, just the kind of thing he needed before talking to Mustang. He wasn’t ashamed to admit the slightly older man made him nervous, mainly because he respected him and he knew what his questioning would be seen as.

 

“Good afternoon, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes.” Mustang greeted as Captain Hawkeye let him into the office once he had arrived. “Take a seat on the couch. I’ll be there in a moment.” Mustang directed without lifting his eyes off the papers in front of him. Brookes did as he was asked and it was only a minute later that Mustang finished the paperwork in front of him and sat on the opposite couch. “What do you need to know, Lieutenant-Colonel?” He asked as Brookes dragged out his notebook.

 

“I’m assuming you’ve heard about Major Pardi and Colonel Summers deaths by now?” Mustang nodded. “Unfortunately, the only things connecting their deaths are the fact that they’re military, they’re men and they weren’t fans of yours and were vocal about it.” Brookes told him. Mustang looked contemplatively at him before speaking.

 

“Yes, I was aware they weren’t supporters of mine. As you said, they were vocal about it.” Mustang told him.

 

“I believe their deaths are connected and I believe Captain Bryce wasn’t a victim of unfortunate circumstances but rather the first victim.” Brookes told him. Mustang didn’t look shocked and Brookes figured the man had already figured that for himself. “As you are one of the few things that link them and not in a good way, I’d like to ask you questions about your whereabouts the nights they died. This is just a matter of me making sure that every lead has been run down and I’d like it so that if this case goes to trial, the defense can’t question why I never looked at you as a suspect.” Brookes explained. Mustang looked slightly surprised.

 

“You make it sound as though you believe I’m not capable of these crimes.” Mustang said and Brookes nodded.

 

“While you may be capable of these acts, I don’t think you committed them.” Brookes told him honestly. Mustang looked at him for a moment before sighing.

 

“Thank you for your honesty, Lieutenant-Colonel. Unfortunately, both nights in question, I don’t have a good alibi. The night Pardi was killed, I was home by myself and the night Summers was killed, I was also home but I couldn’t sleep and went for a walk around the neighbourhood for an hour or so. I’m not sure if anyone saw me as it was late. Maybe 1 or 2 in the morning.” Mustang told him and Brookes nodded as he scribbled in his notepad.

 

“Do you know of anyone else who would have a reason to kill them?” Brookes asked and Mustang sighed.

 

“No. I don’t doubt that Bryce made a few enemies along the way with his attitude. Pardi could have made enemies in Ishval but from what I’ve heard, they’re more grateful for his help rebuilding than they were annoyed or angered by his attitude. Summers likely had some people who would’ve wanted to see him dead – in this line of work and with his rank, why wouldn’t he? – but I can’t think of someone other than myself who had a problem with all three men.” Mustang told him and Brookes allowed a small look of disappointment to come over his face before pulling it back.

 

“Alright. I’ll check with your neighbours and some of those who live in your area, see if I can’t find anyone who was up that late on the night Summers died. Try and see if you’ve some kind of alibi for that night.” Brookes said as he stood. “Thank you for your time, Brigadier-General Mustang. Hopefully your connection with the victims turns out to be an unfortunate coincidence like I believe it is.” Mustang shook his offered hand.

 

“Thank you for your honesty, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes. I will ask one thing of you.” Mustang said as he released the man’s hand. “Follow this investigation where it leads you. I know I’m not the killer and I’m glad you’re in my corner but if it keeps leading you to me, don’t fight it. That’s what went wrong with Ross. Everyone had made their minds up that she was guilty and they never allowed themselves to consider others could’ve been guilty. The fact that you’re investigating me along with other leads tells me you’re doing your job properly. I’m sure plenty of other people would have tried to go after me when my name first came up. Keep in mind that fighting a case when it leads to someone you don’t consider a suspect is just as bad as making it fit that person, despite the evidence.” Mustang said and Brookes allowed the annoyance he felt at being told how to do his job melt away under the intensely concerned gaze Mustang had him under.

 

“I will. You have my word, Brigadier-General.” Brookes said, nodding before Mustang dismissed him from the office with a thank you. Brookes nodded his goodbye to Hawkeye and the rest of the team and didn’t fail to notice the blonde Captain slipping into the inner office before the outer office door had shut behind him.

 

As he walked back to his office, he couldn’t help but hope that his words about this being an unfortunate coincidence were true. Mustang was right that the fact that his name coming up in connection with all three victims would be pounced on by anyone who had a personal or professional reason to get Mustang out of the way and Mustang didn’t exactly have a shortage of people out for his blood. Brookes groaned as he continued down his path. This case was going to get complicated before too long.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 –**

Brookes was knee-deep in the investigation into Bryce, Pardi and Summers’ deaths when he got a phone call he’d been dreading for the past nine days. There was another body found burned in another alleyway. Brookes sighed as he hung up the phone and headed for his car, rousing his team and leaving only those who were following promising leads in the office. The rest followed him to the two cars they had been assigned and headed for the latest crime scene.

 

“I wish I could say it’s good to see you again, Brookes,” one of the Lieutenants that had been present at the last two crime scenes greeted as Brookes and his team piled out of their cars.

 

“Me too, Lieutenant,” Brookes said blandly. “What do we have this time?” He asked as they headed into the alley.

 

“It’s a bit different for you this time. The victim in Brigadier-General Aleyce Henley. Her purse was found a few feet away and undamaged,” the Lieutenant told them.

 

“A woman?” Brookes asked, surprise evident in his voice. The Lieutenant nodded.

 

“I knew her. Not personally but professionally. There had been a lot of suspicion surrounding her in the last few weeks," the Lieutenant told Brookes.

 

“What about? I have to admit, I’ve been too busy with this case to listen to any gossip,” Brookes asked and the Lieutenant nodded understandingly.

 

“There were questions being asked about her loyalties during the Promised Day fiasco. There was some push from a few people to have her investigated for treason against the people as they believed she’d not only known about some – if not, all – of the Promised Day plans and never told anyone or tried to help in the resulting fight. If fact,” the Lieutenant paused, “Brigadier-General Mustang was one of the loudest voices asking for her to be investigated. I know the Fullmetal Alchemist had expressed interest in finding out the truth but Mustang was the main driving force.”

 

“That makes sense. If she really had known and hadn’t tried to tell anyone, Mustang and Elric would be two of the loudest people asking for her to be brought to justice for those events,” Brookes said. “They were two of the main players in that fight. If it could’ve been avoided by Henley speaking up, I’m sure they would’ve preferred that to fighting,” Brookes said and the Lieutenant nodded.

 

The investigators had continued with their jobs, collecting evidence and taking statements. Brookes himself decided to speak to the man who’d been unfortunate enough to find Henley’s burned remains and get his statement before he went back to the office, found Henley’s next of kin and headed for their residence to break the bad news. Henley had been single and her parents had passed away long ago when a small plague had broken out in their neighborhood. Henley and her brother and sister had been spared because they had been visiting their grandparents in the country when the outbreak happened. Her brother had moved down south but her sister resided in Central so it was to her that Brookes paid the visit.

 

Henley’s sister, Tasha, had been devastated at the news of her sister’s death. Brookes had stayed with her until she had calmed down enough to be coherent and began asking her questions. The information he’d gotten pointed to Mustang being Henley’s biggest threat. The man hadn’t been letting up in his efforts to get her investigated and Tasha told Brookes it was starting to make Henley paranoid and stressed. She was convinced Mustang was out to get her for something she hadn’t done and was starting to become increasingly unstable. She’d sworn to get Mustang back for everything the man had done for her and she didn’t make her thoughts unknown.

 

Brookes had thanked her for her time, offered his phone number and condolences before leaving the home of Tasha Henley and heading back to the offices. There were only two things that connected the victims now: they were military and they had a problem with Mustang. That problem had increased in severity and Brookes had had no choice but to include the connection between Henley and Mustang in his next report to the Generals. He’d waited until after he had informally interviewed the Brigadier-General himself to submit the report, however.

 

When Brookes had entered the outer office of Mustang’s office, he had been let through immediately, before he had even been able to get a ‘good morning’ out and this time, Captain Hawkeye had followed him and stood behind Mustang, as still as a statue.

 

“I gather you are here about Brigadier-General Aleyce Henley’s death?” Mustang asked, foregoing pleasantries this time around. Brookes didn’t sit down this time either. All three people in this room were fully aware that with Henley’s death, one of the connections between the victims had been destroyed; that all of the murder victims were male.

 

“Yes, I am, Brigadier-General Mustang,” Brookes said, voice heavy. Mustang leaned forward.

 

“What do you need to know?” Mustang asked. Hawkeye remained passive behind her boss.

 

“I need to know where you were last night,” Brookes had a nasty feeling he knew what Mustang was going to say.

 

“I was home by 10pm last night. I think a neighbour on my right was outside with their dog at that time. I didn’t leave the house until 6am the next morning then I arrived here at 6:30am. Captain Hawkeye as well as Privates’ Lee and Jensen, who were manning the gate that morning, can verify my arrival time,” Mustang told him and Brookes slumped slightly as he was proven correct.

 

“So, no alibi?” Brookes asked and Mustang shook his head.

 

“Not unless there was a neighbour who was stayed up the entire night and was watching my house,” Mustang sounded as annoyed as Brookes felt. Hawkeye was still as passive as ever.

 

“I’ve been told that there have been accusations made against Henley; accusations that yourself and Major Elric have been rather vocal about. Would you mind telling me why you believed Henley to have been agreeable with the late Fuhrer Bradley’s plans?” Brookes asked, hoping this angle would lead to more suspects. He almost hoped this would pan out and that Henley was a copycat so that the ‘male’ connection would be ruled back in.

 

“I believe – as does Fullmetal and many other military officers – that Brigadier-General Henley was aware of some, if not all, of the late Fuhrer’s plans. Or as much as he’d told the Generals who had backed him. We believe she had been a silent supporter of Bradley’s, perhaps promised the same things as the Generals had been for her support. At the time of his death and for a year previous, Henley had been Lieutenant-General Raven’s personal aide, much like Captain Hawkeye is to me. We believe she either accidentally uncovered or was purposefully made aware of Promised Day and did nothing to alert anyone about what was planned. We believe that to mean she was either elicit in or had been at the very least, agreeable enough with the plans to keep them to herself. If she hadn’t been involved in or supportive of these plans, she would have found a way to contact myself or one of the numerous other officers whose beliefs aligned with my own,” Mustang told him and Brookes was shocked. When Promised Day had arrived, he had been one of the ones to align themselves with Mustang, especially after the radio broadcast had gone on air.

 

“What makes you and the others believe that?” Brookes asked, hand starting to cramp with how much he was writing.

 

“She was very upset when Major-General Armstrong replaced Raven in the Fuhrer’s inner group. This was interesting because Brigadier-General Henley wasn’t being considered as a replacement for any of the Generals. Everybody knew that Henley wouldn’t be the last choice but she certainly wasn’t one of the top choices. Even she knew that. Her reaction alone was suspicious enough for me to start looking into her,” Mustang said. Brookes found himself almost leaning in to hang onto Mustangs every word before remembering himself and writing once more. “Of course, once Promised Day was close to being upon us, I couldn’t focus on that anymore. However, once it was over and we had begun the clean up and rebuilding efforts and I was able to focus on it once more.”

 

“Was this before or after your first classified mission with Major Elric?” Brookes asked.

 

“Before the first one.” Mustang didn’t bother asking how he knew about that. The missions themselves were classified, not the fact that they went on them, after all.

 

“Did you find anything to support your claims?” Brookes asked and Mustang sighed. He was obviously debating something. Hawkeye still looked impassive if you were looking anywhere but her eyes. Even she wasn’t sure what her boss was going to say next.

 

“Yes. We found correspondence between herself and General Raven. It was coded however Fullmetal was able to decipher it relatively easily enough. While it wouldn’t have been enough to get charges brought against her, it would have been enough to get a warrant on her offices, homes and other assets. If we had been given a little more time, we could have laid charges against her and had her brought before the courts,” Mustang said, sighing with annoyance at all of their hard work being for nothing now that her death meant they couldn’t prosecute Henley.

 

“Okay. Were you able to find anyone during your investigation that might have had a reason to want Henley dead?” Brookes asked and Mustang shrugged.

 

“I’m sure plenty of people wished to see her dead. A lot of people were affected by Promised Day and I wasn’t the only one who believed she should have been charged. If she had of said something to someone, that day may not have been as fateful as it was.” Mustang’s voice was terse but Brookes didn’t take it personally.

 

“Okay. There’s only more thing I’d like to ask about while I’m here,” Mustang gestured for him to do so. “Would Major Elric be available for an interview?” Mustang didn’t seem to be expecting that question.

 

“Why would you need to talk with Fullmetal?” Mustang asked.

 

“Aside from yourself, he was the most vocal about Brigadier-General Henley being investigated. I will need to interview him for my report,” Brookes explained. Mustang looked at Hawkeye, who nodded and left the room.

 

“Captain Hawkeye will have an answer for you by the time you leave this office,” Mustang told him. Brookes believed him. Hawkeye seemed very efficient like that. “Was there anything else I can help you with?”

 

“No, Sir. That’s all I needed to ask you. I apologise for having to ask these questions. I want to thank you for allowing these informal interviews,” Brookes said but Mustang waved his thanks away.

 

“I understand you’re just doing your job. I’m just glad you’re doing it properly,” Mustang told him. “I trust you know that any interview with Fullmetal will be done in this office. I’ll wait outside with the others but I do need to speak with him once you’re done. It would lessen his complaining if he didn’t have to travel from your office to here,” Mustang told him and Brookes nodded.

 

“I had expected as much. I’ll see myself out. Have a good day, Brigadier-General,” Brookes saluted and the man offered his own well-wishes as Brookes left.

 

“Major Elric can be here at lunchtime tomorrow Is that acceptable?” Captain Hawkeye asked, phone still held to her ear.

 

“Yes, that works nicely for me,” Brookes said.

 

“Did you hear that, Ed?” She said to the person on the other end of the line. “We’ll see you at lunchtime. Don’t be late, please,” She said before hanging up after receiving an answer. Brookes gave his thanks and she simply nodded. He left the office and headed back for his own. He needed to write up the information Mustang had just given him before his interview tomorrow. 

* * *

 

 

The next day he had received a call and went to Mustang’s office to meet with the infamous blonde. He’d nodded a greeting to the rest of Mustang’s team before being permitted entrance to the inner office where Mustang was doing paperwork and a blonde sat on the couch, reading a book. Brookes had cleared his throat and greeted the Brigadier-General first then the Major, as protocol dictated.

 

“It’s Ed, Edward or Fullmetal. Unlike some flame alchemists I won’t name, I don’t give two fucks about my rank. Why am I here?” Ed asked him. Mustang looked both resigned and like he wanted to strangle the blonde. It was an interesting expression.

 

“I need to ask you about Brigadier-General Aleyce Henley,” Brookes said. Ed sighed before putting his book down.

 

“What about her? She’s dead, right?” Ed looked at Mustang, who nodded, then back to Brookes. “Why am I being questioned about that paranoid bitch?” Mustang looked like he was going to say something before giving Brookes a look that told him he was on his own before the older alchemist gathered his finished paperwork and stood.

 

“I’ll wait outside until the two of you are done.” He pointed a finger at Ed. “You stay here. I need to talk with you afterwards.” Ed rolled his eyes as Mustang left, the door shutting softly behind him.

 

“As I explained to Brigadier-General Mustang yesterday, this is merely me making sure that I can’t give the defense any sort of ammunition to give the jury reasonable doubt,” Brookes explained. “If I can’t say that I didn’t rule out everyone who had a reason to wish Henley dead then they’d have the ammunition to make it seem like the person who killed Henley wasn’t whoever we arrest. Since I believe these murders were committed by the same person, if the defense can cast doubt on them for Henley, it would mean doubt would be cast on all of the murders,” Brookes explained. Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“I didn’t want Henley dead; I wanted her in jail but whatever. Ask what you gotta,” Ed said as he sat up a little straighter.

 

“Thank you, Sir.” Ed shot him a warning look and Brookes got the message. “All I need from you is to tell me your alibi for the night in question and to read over and add anything you deem necessary to Brigadier-General’s reasons for suspecting Brigadier-General Henley was involved in – or at least unopposed to – the plans for Promised Day.” Brookes produced his typed report from yesterday and handed it to him. “If you agree, just sign the bottom. If there are any details you think that should be added, I’ll type them up and find you again at a later date to sign it,” Brookes told him. A minute later, Ed got up, snatched a pen from Mustang’s desk and signed the paper.

 

“Here. There’s nothing that needs to added to it. I wasn’t involved in the investigation before Promised Day. I was busy trying not to die after my fight with that nutbag, Kimberlee,” Ed told him. Brookes almost wanted to ask but Edward didn’t give him the chance to decided whether he was going too. “The murder was three nights ago, right?” Ed asked.

 

“Two nights ago, M-Fullmetal.” Brookes remembered to correct himself from using the blonde’s military title but barely. Edward’s golden eyes narrowed dangerously but he allowed the almost-slip.

 

“Whatever. I was at Gracia Hughes’,” Ed told him. “My brother and I live there when we’re not on missions. Alphonse and Miss Gracia will be able to tell you I was there from about 7-ish pm when I got back from picking up some ingredients for dinner Miss Gracia needed until like 10 the next morning when Al and I went out to research some shit at the library,” Ed said. Brookes almost wrote that down verbatim just so he could submit it to the Generals but decided to clean up the wording a touch. The Generals were not known for their sense of humour.

 

“Okay. Is there a number I can reach them at?” Brookes asked and Edward gave it. “Thank you.”

 

“Don’t mention it. Just don’t talk to Elysia by yourself, if you turn up to the house.” Brookes heard the subtle threat hidden under the warning and simply nodded.

 

“I believe a home-visit isn’t necessary but I will keep that in mind if that changes,” Brookes promised. Ed nodded sharply as Brookes stood and extended a hand towards the blonde. Ed shook it and Brookes felt the hard metal as he wrapped his fingers around Ed’s hand before letting go. “Thank you for your time, Fullmetal.”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Ed said as he flopped back onto the couch and grabbed his book once more. Brookes couldn’t help but notice that the blonde’s golden eyes seemed slightly vacant, like he wasn’t really reading the book but was lost in thought or something.

 

Brookes left the office. Mustang and the others were watching him with interest and he thought he saw some money being given to the portly man with reddish hair while the one with the cigarette in his mouth muttered something unhappily.

 

“Thank you for the use of your office, Sir. Have a good day, everyone.” He smiled at Mustang before leaving. He made it halfway to his office when he stopped in his tracks as he thought of something and changed his course abruptly. 

* * *

 

 

He ended up in front of Grumman’s secretary, a pretty, unimpressed looking lady in her early thirties only a few minutes later. Or maybe she just looked unimpressed because of his request.

 

“You want me to ask Fuhrer Grumman if he happens to have 15 minutes to spare so you can _chat_ with him?” She asked incredulously.

 

“Yes, please. I’d like to talk to him about Brigadier-General and the recent string of murders that have taken place,” Brookes said politely. She huffed a sigh and picked up the phone to dial his office. “Thank you.” She shot him a flat look.

 

“Don’t hold your breath,” she warned him before the phone clicked and a muffled voice sounded on the other end. “Fuhrer Grumman, Sir. Forgive my interruption but there’s a Lieutenant-Colonel Charlie Brookes requesting 15 minutes of your time for a discussion regarding Brigadier-General Mustang and the recent murders, Sir.” She paused as she listened to Grumman and the look of surprise on her face had him feeling hopefully. “Yes, Sir. Right away.” She hung up the phone and stood up. “Looks like you’re in luck. Fuhrer Grumman will see you now,” she said, leading him to the doors before opening one and standing aside for him. The doors shut behind him with an echoing click.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes?” Grumman stood, offering a hand that Brookes grasped once he’d crossed the space between the desk and the doors.

 

“Yes, Sir. Thank you for agreeing to talk with me. I know how busy you are. I appreciate the chance,” Brookes said, sitting when Grumman gestured to the chairs on the other side of the desk.

 

“You got lucky. My last meeting ended up running short. I have 20 minutes I can give you until my next appointment. What can I help you with?” Grumman asked, sitting back at his own desk.

 

“I’m sure you’ve been made aware of the murders that have happened recently. What we haven’t made public yet is that we believe Captain Chase Bryce to have been the first victim, leaving the public to believe it’s still an accidental death. Our hope is that our suspect will give themselves away by revealing Bryce as their first victim, as well as other small details we’ve kept from the public,” Brookes told Grumman, who nodded and gestured for him to keep going. “The other thing we haven’t made public is that Brigadier-General Mustang is the only solid connection and suspect we have in all four cases so far, Sir. He has had problems ranging from inconsequential to personal to professional with each victim and each problem can be considered motive. I have informally interviewed Brigadier-General Mustang about all four murders and Major Elric about the death of Brigadier-General Aleyce Henley. Major Elric has provided an alibi for the night in question. Unfortunately for Brigadier-General Mustang, he has had no good alibi for any night,” Grumman listened without interruption until this point.

 

“I have been interested in this case since Colonel Summers was murdered and I had been told about Brigadier-General Mustang’s connection to all the victims. I’ve studied your previous cases with Investigations, both before and after your change in positions since the late Maes Hughes. I have found your work to be exemplary. You appear to be a dedicated investigator and you haven’t let personal bias or public opinion or even peer pressure sway you from the where a case has led you. What does your instinct tell you when it comes to this investigation?” Grumman asked, chin resting on his thumbs, his fingers threaded between each other as he watched the investigator contemplatively.

 

“I believe Brigadier-General Mustang is being framed, Sir. I don’t know by who or why but he doesn’t strike me as the kind of person to go after someone because they had an argument the night before or because they were outspoken about their dislike about him and I certainly don’t believe he’d go after someone for those reasons in this way,” Brookes told him and Grumman nodded.

 

“I believe you’re correct, Lieutenant-Colonel. As you surely know, thanks to your investigation, Mustang used to be under my command while he was in East City.” Brookes nodded. “I got to know him while he was, perhaps a little better than others in my command thanks to the fact that my granddaughter is Brigadier-General Mustang’s second in command. I know what he is capable of. I know what he did in Ishval and what he has done to climb the military ladder. I know what he would do to make sure he didn’t lose his position on the ladder.” Grumman’s eyes hardened. “I do not believe he committed these acts. I do not believe he is the kind of man who would do this kind of thing to someone who got into a drunken argument with him, to someone who spoke about consequences being brought against those who fought in a war he didn’t, to someone who was loud about he believed he was too young for the rank he held. I especially do not believe he would murder a woman for the crimes he was about to charge her with.” Grumman’s voice held complete conviction and Brookes was glad to hear it. Having the Fuhrer on his side would help Mustang. But then Brookes hesitated for a moment, obviously holding himself back from saying something.

 

“Is there something else, Lieutenant-Colonel?” Grumman had obviously noticed and Brookes looked around uncertainly. “You can speak freely here, son," he told the younger man.

 

“I think the Generals will want Mustang arrested, Sir. I’ve had to include the connection to Mustang in all of my reports and the report I submitted to have these cases classified as the work of a serial killer. While they haven’t said anything to me, I believe the Generals are planning to push you to have the Brigadier-General arrested for these crimes. They started getting antsy when I gave them my most recent report on Summers and the preliminary report on Henley. I have a meeting with them tomorrow to give them my updated report on the case and I believe they will start placing pressure on me to have Mustang formally interviewed, if nothing else,” Brookes told him, feeling like a massive weight had been lifted off of him when he got it off his chest.

 

“You will undoubtedly be proven right. I can’t do much to help with that, Lieutenant-Colonel. If you start receiving pressure, remind the Generals that they still need me to sign off on an arrest warrant. I can tell you that I trust you won’t request an arrest warrant unless you had no other choice. The Generals may be the ones you report to but it is _your_ case, not theirs. You and the Generals cannot arrest someone without probable cause and any arrest made with circumstantial evidence must be served with a warrant signed by me.” Grumman leaned back. “I’m sure I don’t have to remind you of that but it doesn’t hurt hearing it from someone else, does it?” Brookes gave a humourless chuckle.

 

“You’re correct, Sir,” Brookes sighed a little. Grumman checked his clock before standing from his chair, a clear sign that Brookes was to follow suit.

 

“I trust you’ll follow this investigation through, no matter where it leads you," Grumman said. Brookes gave him a wry smile.

 

“Mustang had me promise to do just that, Sir.” He extended his hand, any tiny trace of humour gone. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Sir. I’ll take my leave now. Have a good day.” Once Grumman released his hand, Brookes snapped a salute before Grumman released him from it.

 

“You too, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes. Good luck with your investigation,” Grumman said and Brookes dipped his head. He was going to need all the luck he could get. 

* * *

 

 

Brookes watched as the Generals read the reports placed in front of them. Edward’s alibi had checked out like Brookes had expected but it was included in the preliminary report he had submitted to the Generals. The Generals finished reading his report and looked at him, faces neutral or annoyed, depending on who you looked at.

 

“Why haven’t you formally interviewed Brigadier-General Mustang, yet? It’s obvious he’s the only substantial link between these victims and the only viable suspect,” General Combes demanded. Brookes didn’t let himself twitch at the General’s annoyance.

 

“As indicated in my report, Sir, the only evidence we have linking these victims is circumstantial at best. Any half-decent defense lawyer would take a look at the ‘evidence’ and have the case thrown out before it got to a trial,” Brookes told them.

 

“Who else could set their victims on fire and had a personal vendetta against them?” General Widdon asked before Combes could do more than snarl.

 

“As the report states, Sir, the coroner hasn’t had any test results come in yet. Imagine how quickly the case would get thrown out and discredited if traces of some sort of accelerant or ignitor was found on the victims. All they’d have to ask is ‘why would an alchemist renowned for their fire alchemy need accelerant or something to ignite fire?’ and the case would be dismissed,” Brookes told him.

 

“But that could just be Mustang throwing us off of his trail! It’s obvious this is him!” Combes bellowed.

 

“Because the victims happen to have some sort of problem against Mustang?” Brookes asked and Combes made scoffed like that should be obvious. “The defense could argue that Brigadier-General Mustang has an admirer who believes that taking out potential threats or enemies and making the murders look like flame alchemy is the best way to impress him. Or they could argue that Mustang has an enemy who is using his alchemy to frame him, since he is the only flame alchemist in the country,” Brookes pointed out and Combes made a disgusted noise.

 

“I thought you worked for us, not the defense,” Combes spat.

 

“All due respect, Sir,” Brookes said, keeping his voice cool and calm, "it is my job to investigate a case where it takes me and to think like the defense so I can ensure they don’t have a case by the time we take it to trial.” The Generals muttered and Brookes knew he might have pushed the line to ‘insubordinate’ further than he wanted to. He stood at perfect attention while they had a quiet and quick discussion amongst themselves.

 

“Very well, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes. You’re dismissed,” General Smythe said. Brookes saluted before leaving just as quickly as he dared. He wished he could give Mustang and Grumman some kind of heads up since the Generals weren’t as quiet as they thought they were. He knew that Combes and Widdon, at least, were going to go to the Fuhrer as soon as possible to try and twist Brookes’ arm into making an arrest. He felt a childish hope that the real killer would make themselves known to him with a full confession and sighed when he reminded himself that this wasn’t how things worked. He just had to trust that the truth would be uncovered before Mustang suffered for it. 

* * *

 

 

Brookes had barely submitted his report and been subjected to that meeting with the Generals when he got another phone call. It had barely been four days since they’d found Henley’s body and here he was, in another alleyway, looking down on another burned corpse dressed in the charred remains of a military uniform.

 

“Identification?” Brookes asked, a little more snappishly than necessary. The poor Warrant Officer who was acting as the person in charge while his boss was busy talking to witnesses.

 

“The coroner isn’t here yet, Sir. We can’t check for a wallet yet.” He sounded one harsh sentence from being reduced to stuttering. Brookes sighed and the Warrant Officer flinched.

 

“Alright. Not your fault. We’ll just wait for the coroner to get on scene. What else can you tell me?” Brookes asked and the Warrant Officer seems to relax slightly now that he knew he wasn’t going to be blamed.

 

“He was discovered at 3:30 this afternoon. This particular establishment doesn’t open its doors until 5 but the owner had sent his workers home before clean-up last night because they’d been open longer than usual due to an influx of late-night customers. He and two other workers had come in earlier today so they could get the place ready to open. One of his workers had come out here to dispose of some rubbish and made the discovery. Poor bastard threw up his lunch over there before heading inside to tell his boss.” Brookes didn’t blame the worker. He wanted to throw up the first time he saw Bryce’s body.

 

The coroner turned up a few minutes later and was quick to hand over the dead man’s wallet. When Brookes saw the man’s name, he shut his eyes and took a deep slow breath. The dead man was Major-General Bernard Andrews. He was the person Brigadier-General Mustang reported to directly and it was well-known that Mustang would be the first person chosen to replace Andrews, should something happen to the man or he chose to retire. He knew that the moment he submitted this report to the Generals, they would be swarming Fuhrer Grumman for an arrest warrant. He bagged the wallet and excused himself before heading to the office to find out Andrews next of kin to make the notification to and call Mustang to inform him of the Major-General’s death before the Generals heard about it. 

* * *

 

 

“Thank you telling me,” Mustang said before the man on the other end of the line could hang up. Mustang disconnected the call and put the phone down. He heard someone enter his office and looked up to see Hawkeye standing in front of his desk. “Major-General Andrews has just been found murdered in an alleyway behind a bar he liked to frequent.” He heard Hawkeye’s slight gasp at the news. Andrews had been a good man. One of the rare higher ups of the military who hadn’t acted like his rank meant he was smarter or better than any lower ranked officer. He even got along well with Edward whenever the two were in the same room as each other, not minding the blonde’s blunt attitude.

 

“Colonel Brookes?” Hawkeye asked and Mustang leant back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head.

 

“Just called to break the news and give me a warning. The Generals had been getting antsy after Henley was found, demanding I be hauled in for official questioning. With Andrews dead, I will be,” Mustang told her. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that these five victims have been people who have had problems with me or that they’ve been killed on nights I have no alibi. Fullmetal said something when we found out about Pardi’s death. He’d thought Bryce was connected to it since fire-related deaths are unusual enough but two men killed in an alleyway by being burned alive was definitely out of the norm. I dismissed his concerns, telling him the investigators would’ve connected the deaths if there was any evidence linking them,” Mustang told her as he looked out of the window.

 

“But it stuck in your mind, didn’t it?” Hawkeye asked though they both knew she knew the answer.

 

“Yes, and it crossed my mind that I would more than likely be a suspect, if only because of the manner in which they died. I am the Flame Alchemist after all,” Mustang told her. “The fact that the people who have died were either annoyances, enemies or rivals of mine doesn’t help. Either someone out there thinks they’re helping me ridding Amestris of potential enemies or people who have an issue with me or…”

 

“Or you’re being framed,” Hawkeye finished for him and Mustang nodded. “Do you want me to start making preparations in case something happens, Sir?” Hawkeye asked and Mustang sighed through his nose.

 

“Yes. Contact Kenneth Lanco. Tell him I might be calling in my favour shortly. Give him the short version of the events and ask him to stay on standby. Tell the rest of the team as well,” Mustang told her. She snapped a salute and left his office immediately. 

* * *

 

 

Grumman had barely hung up the phone when his secretary called to say that Generals Combes and Widdon were about to enter the office. He thanked her and spent the few moments he had trying to make sure he was as calm as possible. He’d just found out that Major-General Bernard Andrews had been killed and warned that the Generals had found out about it first. He allowed himself an extra moment to grieve the loss of a friend before his secretary was opening his doors and closing them once more as the two Generals stormed in to his office.

 

“May I help you, Generals?” Grumman asked, staying seated as he watched the men move to stand in front of his desk, glaring down at him.

 

“We’d like your cooperation regarding the serial killings, Sir,” Combes ground out. Grumman raised a brow at the men. He knew he wasn’t entirely popular with some of the Generals under his command and he knew his blatant support of Mustang didn’t help matters. “We would like to arrest Brigadier-General Mustang on suspicion of the five recent murders,” Combes said.

 

“No,” Grumman answered simply.

 

“Sir, we have evidence –“ Widdon tried before Grumman held up a hand to stop him.

 

“I believe you are under the impression that I am not up to date with the technical aspects of the case so let me stop you here. I know there is _circumstantial_ evidence that points to Brigadier-General Mustang being the only viable suspect. I also know that this circumstantial evidence would be easily countered in a court and this case would end before the opening arguments were even finished,” Grumman told them, pinning them with a stern gaze.

 

“Sir, we are aware of your personal thoughts about Brigadier-General Mustang and we must request that you look past them to see the truth. Brigadier-General Mustang is the only person who could have done this. Arresting him would not only save lives but it would put the public at ease, Sir,” General Widdon tried to argue. Grumman could see the blackmail attempt in between his words.

 

“Let me ask you this, General Widdon. If the evidence in this case pointed to anyone else – General Combes, for example – would you be pushing this hard for an arrest on evidence this flimsy and present a case this full of holes to a courtroom where any defense lawyer would win the case in their sleep?” General Widdon stuttered for a moment and Grumman nodded. “That’s what I thought. You may formally _interview_ Brigadier-General Mustang in relation to these cases but unless an eye witness or actual physical evidence is brought to light, Brigadier-General Mustang will not be arrested,” Grumman told them, throwing them a bone so they would hopefully ease off of Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes a little. The men were obviously dissatisfied with what they were given but knew they wouldn’t win this round.

 

“Thank you, Fuhrer Grumman, Sir,” Widdon managed to say without making it sound like a hardship.

 

“You’re dismissed, Generals.” The men turned to leave before Grumman called to stop them. “I’d like to remind you of something you have apparently forgotten. Any suspect of a crime, no matter their rank or standing, is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and the two of you – and the other Generals, for that matter – are not that court of law.” Grumman gestured for the seething men to leave and thought the slamming of the door was a little childish. 

* * *

 

 

It was barely three hours after his discussion with Hawkeye that his office door was thrown open and two Generals and Brookes walked through, Hawkeye immediately on their six. Brookes gave him an apologetic grimace while the Generals looked smug.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang. You will be coming with us for questioning regarding the suspicious deaths of Captain Chase Bryce, Major Colin Pardi, Colonel James Summers, Brigadier-General Aleyce Henley and Major-General Bernard Andrews. Will you do this voluntarily?” The older of the two Generals – Combes was the man’s name, if Mustang wasn’t mistaken – asked, eyes twinkling like he hoped Mustang would be foolish enough to make this difficult.

 

“Of course,” Mustang said, standing up smoothly as Hawkeye passed him his jacket. “Captain Hawkeye, if you wouldn’t mind contacting the Fuhrer and anyone else I had a meeting with today and let them know I’ve been asked to give a statement regarding the serial killer so I will unfortunately not be able to make it to our meetings today. Ask them to reschedule at their earliest convenience,” Mustang ordered as he walked past the Generals and Brookes and into the outer office, leaving the three men to follow him or be left behind.

 

“Very well, Sir. I’m sure the Fuhrer will be wanting to talk to you as soon as you’ve finished with the Generals. I shall remain in the office until you’re done to let you know,” Hawkeye told him and Mustang nodded. His other team members looked a mixture of anxious, concerned and worried on his behalf and Mustang made a sign for them to stay put.

 

“After you, gentlemen.” Mustang said, eyeing the Generals up and knew his agreeable attitude was making them grind their teeth in annoyance. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew how his promotion had been taken by some of the higher-ranked military members. He paused at the door as he remembered something that had been pushed out of his mind by the news of Andrews death. “Oh, Fullmetal will be dropping by sometime today with some paperwork he needed to complete regarding his last few missions,” Mustang told Hawkeye before turning and following the patiently waiting Brookes and not-so-patient Generals. 

* * *

 

 

Hawkeye was immediately on the phone when the door shut behind her boss, dialing Gracia’s home number and waiting for someone to answer it as she glared at the men still in the room to get to work. The phone clicked as someone picked it up. “Edward?” She asked immediately'

 _"Miss Riza?"_ Ed sounded confused and Hawkeye didn't blame him.

 

“I need you to come into the office as soon as you can," Hawkeye informed him.

 

 _"Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can,"_ he promised.

 

"Thank you, Edward. See you shortly," she said, placing the phone back in its cradle and got back to her own work until Edward showed up in the office. He would need to be brought up to speed and warned to prepare to help investigate these deaths if Mustang was arrested in relation to them. She rubbed her temples as she moved on to the first set of orders Mustang gave as he walked out and started calling anyone he had a meeting scheduled with today. She couldn’t help but feel like things were going to take a turn for the worst before long.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 –**

Mustang watched in well-hidden amusement as the Generals put forth their best intimidating acts and spend half their time standing behind Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes in a manner Mustang thought he was supposed to believe looked threatening. It probably would’ve worked better if they didn’t spend the other half of the time trying to get Brookes to hurry up with his questions or flat out talking over the top of the man.

 

“So you’re saying you don’t have an alibi for any of the nights in question?” General Combes demanded, slamming a hand on the table. Mustang didn’t even blink, far too used to Edward kicking his door open at random times.

 

“I have an alibi for each night in question. I just don’t believe there’s anyone who could corroborate my alibis since I was home, alone, each night in question. I didn’t have anyone make a random visit in the middle of the night for some reason and I didn’t spend my night in a bar, as I sometimes like to do after a stressful day,” Mustang told them calmly.

 

“Why wouldn’t you have an alibi?” Widdon asked and Mustang would admit the question threw him for a moment.

 

“What do you mean, General Widdon?” Mustang asked, still as calmly as he had been during this whole interview.

 

“You’ve known you were a connection between the victims since Colonel Summers death. Why wouldn’t you ensure you had some sort of alibi for when we inevitably questioned you? Surely someone of your rank would’ve had no problems getting one,” Widdon said observationally. Mustang raised a brow.

 

“Are you trying to subtly ask me why I haven’t paid someone off to be my alibi or why I haven’t fabricated one?” Mustang asked. Brookes kept a neutral face but Mustang could tell he was curious as well.

 

“Of course not, Brigadier-General Mustang. I’m merely asking why you didn’t have a member of your team stay with you each night or stay at a friend’s place so you would have an alibi for at least one of the nights in question,” Widdon told him.

 

“It’s very simple, really,” Mustang told him. “You see, I didn’t think I’d need to have to go out of my way to create an alibi – and make myself look a little guiltier in the process – because I don’t need one. I know I didn’t commit these murders and I trust that Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes will his job properly, despite any obstacles that try and divert him, and will find the real killer,” Mustang told them. The not quite-so subtle remark aimed at them had the two Generals snarl. “Are there any further questions, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes?” Mustang asked.

 

“Not at this time. Thank you for coming in with us, Brigadier-General Mustang,” Brookes said, standing as Mustang did and shaking his hand.

 

“Let me know if I can be of any further assistance to your investigation, Lieutenant-Colonel. Have a good day, Generals, Lieutenant-Colonel,” Mustang dipped his head to the two pissed-off looking men as Brookes held the door open for him and murmured a small apology that Mustang responded to with a soft smile before heading for his office to get back to his paperwork. 

* * *

 

_Just after Mustang left the office..._

Ed hung up the phone once he said goodbye to Hawkeye before going and finding his brother and Elysia since they were babysitting her for the day while Gracia was working because Elysia’s school had a pupil free day, much to the five-year-old’s delight. The Lions pressed on Ed’s mind, his bond with them filling with worry as they felt his worry caused by the phone call but Ed only assured them he was alright and promised answers later. They weren’t happy with his answer but he swore he’d tell them what was up as soon as he knew himself, which placated them a little more. He found them in her room, playing with some transmuted dolls Ed had made for her while Al was still in hospital.

 

“Hey, Brother. Who was on the phone?” Al asked once he spotted Ed in the doorway. Ed had to grin at the pink, sparkly tiara tilted precariously on his brother’s head.

 

“That’s a good look for you, Al.” Al poked his tongue out at his brother while Elysia squealed in delight that someone else thought so. “It was Miss Riza. She wants me to come into the office ASAP for some reason,” Ed told him.

 

“To visit Uncle Roy?” Elysia asked excitedly.

 

“I don’t know, El. I think so. Maybe he has another mission for me,” Ed said, giving the girl a smile when she groaned at the thought of him going away again.

 

“Can I come? I wanna see Uncle Roy and Miss Riza and Mr. Havoc and Mr. Fuery…” Elysia continued to name the team while Al sent Ed a look that asked him if he really believed it was another message. Ed shrugged. He honestly didn’t know. The way Hawkeye had sounded on the phone made him think either Mustang was in trouble with her or in trouble with someone. The second option had him thinking of his interview with Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes and he wondered if the two were connected.

 

“Brother?” Al’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. “Do you want me to stay here with Elysia?” Al asked and Ed sighed. If this was something serious, he didn’t want Elysia there but at the same time, he knew Al should be.

 

“No. It’s probably just another boring mission,” Ed sighed exasperatedly, making Elysia giggle at his dramatics. “Might as well make it interesting by siccing Elysia on him.” He grinned as Elysia laughed at the thought. Al looked at him, asking if he was sure and Ed nodded. “Better not keep them all waiting for our illustrious presence. Al, you might want to lose the tiara or else everybody will want one,” Ed told him as his younger brother stood. The younger boy flushed before placing the tiara on Elysia’s bed before leaving the room with the young girl in tow.

 

Elysia was very happy to walk in between the two of them, swinging their hands as she led them to Central Command, though Ed and Al did have to correct her a couple of times before they got there. Elysia’s presence raised a couple of brows but they were let through with no problems once both boys assured the guards she would be accompanied at all times. The walk to the office was just as fun for Elysia as the walk to Central Command. She made sure to say hello to everyone and almost always got a hello back, though it was more often than not a startled one.

 

“What ever happened, it wasn’t me,” Ed said the moment he entered the office and saw everyone’s serious faces. His assertion of innocence had Havoc, Fuery and Breda crack a smile and Hawkeye and Falman looked a tiny bit more relaxed.

 

“Edward, Alphonse, thank you for coming. I didn’t realise you were bringing Elysia,” Hawkeye said, eyeing the little girl and giving her a big smile.

 

“Mama’s at work and I didn’t have school today. Big brother Ed said Uncle Roy was just gonna give him a new mission so big brother Al and I came too!” Elysia told her excitedly. “Is Uncle Roy in his office?” She asked, looking at the door.

 

“No, Elysia. He’s in a meeting at the moment,” Hawkeye told her. Ed frowned. That hadn’t been what Hawkeye had told him. “Do you think you can stay out here with the team while I talk to your big brothers for a few minutes?” She asked nicely and Elysia sighed.

 

“Okay,” She said, pouting that she wouldn’t be seeing her uncle today. Ed nudged her shoulder.

 

“We’ll head to the shops after this and get something you can help me cook for dinner so your mum doesn’t have to, okay?” Ed told her and she brightened immediately. “Why don’t you think of something we can cook together while Al and I talk to Miss Riza, okay?” He suggested and she nodded enthusiastically before heading to sit next to Havoc. Hawkeye and the Elrics went into Mustang’s inner office.

 

“Thank you for coming in so quickly. I’ll keep this as brief as possible so you can get back to Gracia’s,” Hawkeye said, gesturing to the couch. All three sat. “I’m sure you know about the five murders by now,” Hawkeye said but stopped when Ed looked confused.

 

“Five? I thought Henley was the fourth?” He said and Hawkeye sighed. He hadn’t been told yet.

 

“Edward, Major-General Andrews was found this morning.” Ed looked stunned before he covered his mouth and tried to draw in a deep breath. Hawkeye knew that would’ve been hard to hear. Edward and Andrews got along famously well. “I’m sorry,” She said and Ed removed his hand and Al patted his back as he straightened.

 

“Okay. Where’s Mustang really?” Ed asked before whispering something to Al, probably an assurance of some kind. Ed could feel the Lions wanting to demand answers but were holding themselves back. He appreciated the fact that they were kind enough to not overwhelm him with their worry at his distress but he could still feel how much restraint was being exerted by each Lion and that was a little distracting.

 

“He’s being formally interviewed in connection with all murders,” Hawkeye said and both boys’ eyes opened in shock.

 

“They don’t actually think he did them, do they?” Al asked and Ed started looking angrier.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes certainly doesn’t but he’s the only one who’s involved in the case that appears too,” Hawkeye told them. “The Generals – specifically Combes and Widdon – seem particularly certain Brigadier-General Mustang is the person behind these crimes based on the way the victims died. They’ve completely disregarded the fact that not all of the coroner’s tests have come back with results yet and the fact that there is no evidence tying the Brigadier-General to these crimes.” Ed scoffed.

 

“That sounds about right,” He said as he stood and started pacing. “No, guys, you can’t really help right now. I swear, I will tell you everything later. No, I’m alright, just got some upsetting news. Yeah, something might be happening here but I promise I’m alright.” Al and Hawkeye watched as Ed seemingly had a random conversation with himself. They both would admit it was weird watching him like this, even though they knew full well who he was chatting with. “Mustang.” Ed said simply in response to a question by one of the Lions. “Yes, Black, I will tell you everything once I know what’s going on myself, okay?” Ed rolled his eyes in exasperation before turning his attention back to the two humans. “Okay, so what do you need from us? They haven’t arrested him, have they?” Ed asked, as though he hadn’t just been talking with five magical Lions. Hawkeye shook her head, both in response to his question and in fond exasperation.

 

“No, they wouldn’t dare. They need either irrefutable evidence or an arrest warrant from the Fuhrer and he won’t give them one based on the case they have now,” Hawkeye said. “We just needed you two to be aware of what was going on. The fact that all of the victims have a connection to Brigadier-General Mustang has us concerned. That can’t be a coincidence. Brigadier-General Mustang believes he is being framed by someone who wants to see him out of the picture. Boys, if this case goes to trial and Brigadier-General Mustang is who they charge, they will push for the firing squad and they will likely get it. He has no alibi and the fact that the victims have been burned to death is only working against him,” Hawkeye told them. Ed and Al stiffened where they were standing or sitting. “We may need your help to try and uncover the real criminal if they do end up arresting Brigadier-General Mustang. Until he is no longer considered a suspect, you won’t be going on missions, Edward,” She told him and Ed nodded. “We would appreciate your help if it comes to it, Alphonse, but you’re not military so if you’re not comfortable with it-“

 

“Miss Riza, I’ll help in any way I can if I’m needed,” Al interrupted her and gave her a reassuring smile. Hawkeye sighed.

 

“Thank you, boys. Also, please don’t tell anyone except Gracia,” Hawkeye asked and both of them nodded. She stood and Al followed suit, Ed not having sat down from his pacing. “Now, I believe you promised a certain little girl she could go shopping to help you with dinner. Best not keep her waiting,” Hawkeye said with a smile that the brothers returned.

 

“Big brothers!” Elysia greeted like she hadn’t seen them for days rather than minutes.

 

“Hey, El. Did you behave?” Ed asked and she nodded. “Did you figure out what we’re cooking?” He asked as he lifted her off the seat she was perched on.

 

“Yup!” She told him excitedly.

 

“Awesome. You can tell me on the way to the shops. Say goodbye to everyone,” Ed told her and she immediately went around and hugged everyone before returning back to the two brothers. “Sorry we can’t stick around. See you later,” Ed said, waving goodbye as Al gave his own goodbyes and they received a chorus in return while Elysia tugged determinedly on his arm. 

* * *

 

_Later that night..._

Lieutenant-General Olivier Armstrong was walking from the restaurant she had been enjoying dinner. Fuhrer Grumman had called her family home this morning to request a meeting tonight, if she was amicable. They had settled on an 8pm meeting in his office as no other time suited the both of them and he had assured her it would be a quick meeting. She scowled impressively as she stalked towards Central Command. She wasn’t mad about the meeting. In fact, she was grateful for it since it allowed her to escape that tedious dinner with her siblings and parents. She noticed that people were passing by her with wary expressions and schooled her expression so she looked merely displeased rather than murderous.

 

A noise from the alleyway ahead caught her attention. It had sounded like someone was scuffling their feet on the cobblestones and she had been prepared to walk right past it. She almost welcomed some idiot to try and mug her tonight. After listening to her younger brother crying about Mustang being framed for some rather vicious murders, she needed to release her pent-up frustration somehow and teaching some worm a lesson about mugging people would be satisfying. Then there was a whisper as she was at the halfway point. She froze and listened closer, eyes squinting in concentration as she strained to extend her hearing as far as it could go. She heard it again. It was faint and it was a cry for help.

 

Armstrong snarled as she considered her options. It could have been a trick since she was a high-ranking military official and didn’t have any bodyguards. With Miles in Ishval and Buccaneer dead, she didn’t have anyone she trusted that much to watch her back. Besides, she wasn’t some dainty damsel. She could damn well save herself if someone tried to attack her. She huffed and made her way down the alleyway. She couldn’t leave without at least checking. If it really was someone who needed help and she left them to suffer, she would feel a touch guilty. Besides, if this was a trap, she could still some insignificant twerp’s arse and be at Grumman’s office in time for her meeting.

 

She made it halfway down the alley, the voice growing stronger. She stopped suddenly as she realised that she’d been paying too much attention to the voice and not enough to what it was saying. It was repeating the same two phrases. ‘Help me’ and ‘please, someone, help me’ could be heard drifting up from somewhere deeper in the alleyway. It sounded like a child and it wasn’t uncommon for victims to repeat the same phrase or phrases over and over as they lay hurt somewhere. What tipped Armstrong off was the fact that these phrases kept repeating with the exact same amount of time between them and the tone always stayed the same. No hitches in their words as they sobbed or cracking in their voice when the thought that no one could hear them entered their mind.

 

There was a noise behind her and she snarled as she ducked, the weapon aimed for her head missing. She felt the breeze as it passed over her head and she went to draw her sword when she realised she had promised her mother that she wouldn’t wear it dinner since they would be in public. Growling at her own idiocy, Armstrong swung a fist at the figure but they’d already moved and she felt whatever weapon they were using hit her head with a sickening crack and she dropped to the ground in a graceless heap.

 

Her vision was blurry and she couldn’t focus on what she was seeing in front of her. The bright streetlights were orange blobs and the dumpster was nothing more than a dark patch in her vision. She saw a set of dress shoes enter her vision and forced her eyes upwards. She took in the dark blue military uniform as she felt her hair dampen with her own blood. Her head was throbbing horrifically and she struggled not to make a pained groan so she wouldn’t give her attacker the satisfaction of hearing her hurt.

 

She snarled at herself. She was not some helpless damsel and she would _not_ take this attack lying down like some victim. She went to rise to her feet and felt a blow to her ribs. Her breath was forced out as she felt at least one rib break. She went back down, face smashing into the filthy ground beneath her and couldn’t stop the tiny groan from escaping. She glared back up at her attacker.

 

The next thing she took in was the jacket, open slightly to show a white dress shirt. She could hear something that sounded like scratching? She forced her further up and took in the white gloves with something red on the back of them. She couldn’t get her eyes to focus enough to make what it was out but she saw the hand shake before the scratching noise sounded again and she saw sparks fly and her eyes widened. There was no way it could have been _him_ standing over her! She would _not_ be dying at his hand and _especially_ not in some filthy alley!

 

She made another attempt to get to her feet then. If it truly was him, she wouldn’t take this lying down! Her attacker evidently didn’t except her to try and regain her feet since they stumbled back half a step when she got to her knees and something about that movement made something in her mind think twice about who was trying to take her down but she didn’t know why. She got to her hands and knees when there was a blow to her back and she went down but not completely. Her attacker then swiped her hand from out underneath herself and she went crashing back down, her back and wrist throbbing harshly. There was that scratching sound again and she knew she wasn’t getting back up. She swore at her body’s lack of cooperation and decided she’d do the second-best thing she could. She’d survive and she’d identify the serial killer.

 

She made herself look at her attackers’ face and saw dark hair but her vision wasn’t working in her favour and she could feel a warm wetness run down from her temple to pool in the corner of her eye. She blinked and literally saw red and knew it was blood blocking her already poor vision. She kept her eyes trained on their face, hoping for them to step into some sort of light so she could get a good look at them. There was something off with them though. Her mind was screaming at itself as it struggled to figure out which part of it was right. There was a sound from the building behind Armstrong and her foe jerked back in fright. There was another noise – Armstrong thought it was a door – and her attacker fled down the back of the alley.

 

Two seconds later, the door behind Armstrong opened and someone grumbling stepped out before she heard a short shriek then curse before someone with long, dark, curly hair leaning down in front of her sight. She wanting to tell them to get away from her, her habit of never accepting help still strong despite her head wound. She could see the woman’s lips moving and with a frightening start, Armstrong realised she couldn’t hear her. She refused to allow herself to panic though. This would be temporary, the shock from the blow settling in, that was all. She could feel her vision fading and there were more shadows behind the woman who found her but she knew she wouldn’t be staying awake much longer. She grasped the fingers she could feel in her hand and grabbed the woman’s attention. She said something about the military uniform, white gloves and sparks before she allowed herself to slip into nothingness. 

* * *

 

Major Alex Louise Armstrong had just finished a lovely dinner with his wonderful family and was holding the door open for his youngest sister and parents to walk through. He mourned the absence of his oldest sister but knew that she was in an important meeting with Fuhrer Grumman right now and they would have the opportunity to have another family dinner before she headed back to Fort Briggs to continue protecting their borders from those determined Drachman from trying to invade their border.

 

Suddenly there was a soldier rushing towards them, eyes trained on Major Armstrong as he beelined for them. He stopped, saluted then relaxed when Armstrong gave him a nod.

 

“I’m sorry to interrupt your evening, Major Armstrong, but it’s your older sister, Sir,” The young Sergeant gasped out as he heaved for breath. Armstrong heard his mother and sister gasp as his father sucked in a sharp breath of his own.

 

“What happened? Where is she?” Armstrong demanded.

 

“She’s at the hospital, Sir. She was attacked in an alley. We believe it was by the same person who attacked the other five victims,” The Sergeant told him. Armstrong dismissed him and bundled his family into the waiting car, directing the driver to take them to the hospital. As they drove, the driver pushing the speed limits, Armstrong thought about what he had been telling his family at dinner.

 

Mustang had been questioned earlier that day about the murders. Armstrong hadn’t liked the fact that one of his closest friends had been dragged into the interview rooms like a common criminal just because someone had happened to choose fire as their weapon of choice. He could understand why they had had to question Mustang but it rankled him at how gleeful the Generals he had seen during the day were. They weren’t as gleeful when Mustang had walked out of the interview room just after his team knocked off from work.

 

Armstrong was dragged out of his thoughts by the car coming to a stop in front of the hospital and he followed his parents and little sister out of the car while the driver went to park and the four of them hurried into the hospital. His father was immediately demanding to know where his daughter was and one of the nurses was quick to identify who he was after and lead them down a hallway to talk to the appropriate doctor.

 

The doctor was a middle-aged man with greying temple, turning his blonde hair silver with age. He looked harried and Armstrong felt a small pang of sympathy for the man when his eyes found them and he seemed to sink a little before remembering himself and straightening once more.

 

“General Armstrong?” The doctor greeted his father, who nodded impatiently. “I’m Doctor Randy Evans. Your daughter was admitted nearly an hour and a half ago. I believe the military had some trouble finding your location,” He commented before grabbing the chart from the pile he had been sorting through and flipping the pages. “Your daughter was attacked with some sort of blunt object, like a pipe or a bat, and sustained some serious injuries including a head wound and a broken rib. The injury that’s causing us the most concern is the head wound. What she suffered is called an open fracture to her skull. That is relatively easy to treat. We will need to keep her here in a medically induced coma to give her body a chance to heal itself and prevent any swelling in her brain. We’re optimistic, however, that that won’t occur. Whoever hit her either wasn’t aiming to do serious damage in the first place or had a weak swing, if you’ll excuse my plain words,” The doctor was saying and Armstrong finally recognised him as one of the few doctors that young Edward wasn’t able to con into letting him leave the hospital without proper treatment. When young Alphonse had been in hospital after Promised Day, Evans was one of his primary doctors at Edward’s insistence. “She has other bruising, mainly to her side and back, and her wrist has sustained damage so we believe the attacker struck her while she was down or was trying to keep her down. Either way, her wrist and ribs have been wrapped and will heal by themselves. Like I said, it’s her head wound we wish to keep an eye on,” Dr Evans said.

 

“Doctor Evans, how long will she be required to stay in the hospital?” Armstrong asked before his father could bluster anymore at the poor man. He wanted to growl at the fact that someone would attack someone while they were already down. What kind of coward did that?

 

“Once she wakes up, she’ll be required to stay in hospital until her stitches are taken out. Generally, we prefer to wait at least a day when it comes to medically induced comas before we started easing them out of it. With a fractured skull, I’d like your permission to wait at least a day and a half,” Evans said simply.

 

“Why that long?” Mrs. Armstrong asked, her voice faint and wobbly with emotions.

 

“Skull injuries are frankly nothing to wipe your nose at. If she doesn’t show signs within the next 48 hours of developing an infection or becoming at risk of brain swelling, we will start easing her out of the coma. Those 36 hours will prove pivotal in what her recovery time will look like. So long as nothing happens in those 36 hours, she will be back home sooner,” Dr Evans explained gently and Armstrong watched his parents talk quietly while he pulled his little sister to his side and wrapped a muscly arm around her shoulders gently.

 

“We’ll follow your recommendations, Doctor Evans.” Armstrong sighed in relief when his father’s voice was back to its usual, calm tenor. Evans seemed to relax as well before leading them to where Olivier was roomed. Coming towards them from the other end of the hallway were General Combes, General Widdon and Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes. The latter looked like he really didn’t want to be there.

 

“General Armstrong, Major Armstrong,” General Combes greeted with a salute to the ex-General and a nod to the Major. “We would like to talk to Lieutenant-General Armstrong,” The way the man had worded it wasn’t as a request.

 

“Dr Evans has just informed us that our daughter is in a medically induced coma and will be staying that way for 36 hours at the minimum,” The patriarch of the family told them. “After that, it is up to Dr Evans and Olivier herself as to when she will be receiving visitors. You may speak to her when both Dr Evans and Olivier feel she is up to it.” The Generals eyes both flashed angrily.

 

“That is unacceptable! She is the only surviving victim of a dangerous serial killer! We need her to be woken up so she can give us more than the military uniform and gloves he was wearing plus sparks appearing from his hands,” General Combes said angrily. “A medically induced coma can be reversed at any time. We need you to do so immediately. She can be placed under once more after we’re finished questioning her. We need her to name her attacker.” It was evident to everyone present who Combes wanted her to name.

 

“Let me get this straight,” Dr Evans was the first to speak up, voice barely this side of calm but threatening to boil over at any moment. “You want me to put my patient and the Armstrong’s to put their daughter and sister in unnecessary medical danger so you can put additional and completely unnecessary stress on her body and mind by pulling her out of the coma we were forced to put her in so her life wasn’t at risk so you can try and get her to name Brigadier-General Mustang as her attacker? Let me remind you,” Evans said, voice deadly calm as the Generals spluttered and Brookes looked torn between terrified and amused, “that she suffered a strong enough blow to her temple to fracture her skull. Her vision was likely blurry at best and unreliable at worse. Not to mention that it’s also likely she’ll have suffered short-term memory loss. The brain has been known to suppress or even erase traumatic memories to protect itself from the emotional trauma. The chances of her having seen her attacker are about as good as your chances of getting me to reverse her medically induced coma. In case that isn’t clear enough, it’s not happening” Armstrong could see why Edward was unable to talk his way out of leaving the hospital without Dr Evans permission.

 

“You are not a doctor, are you, General?” Mrs. Armstrong asked, her voice deceivingly calm. The irate General shook his head, a sinking feeling in his gut. “Then you will not be making medical decisions for my daughter and ordering around someone who is not under your command and isn’t required to listen to you. My daughter will be out of the coma when Dr Evans decides it’s best for her to come out and you will be allowed to talk to her about what she did or didn’t see when she is ready to have people more concerned with making themselves look good as opposed to a victim’s health and not a moment sooner.” The fury blazing in his mother’s eyes had Armstrong take a slight step back and he wasn’t the one the gaze was aimed out.

 

“We’re very sorry for any distress we have caused you, ma’am, Sirs. It was not our intention. I’m sure you can sympathise with the pressure we are under to arrest the person responsible for these deaths and your daughter’s attack. We will leave it for Dr Evans to contact us when Lieutenant-General Armstrong has recovered enough to give us a statement,” General Widdon said, voice trembling with fear while General Combes seethed to the side. Brookes looked ready to go back to his office and down a bottle or two of whiskey. “We wish your daughter a speedy recovery. Thank you for your time,” Widdon saluted before nudging Combes, who offered a salute before the both of them retreated down the hallway, burning with humiliation and an added desire to see Mustang pay burning in their veins.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes?” Major Armstrong called to the man who was about to follow his bosses down the hallway.

 

“Yes, Major Armstrong?” Brookes was hesitant as he faced the bigger man, despite the fact that he was off higher rank than him. Armstrong nodded to his parents and nudged his little sister to go and sit with Olivier.

 

“I would appreciate your honest opinion to this question,” Armstrong said as Dr Evans left them to see to his other patients. “Do you believe Brigadier-General Mustang is guilty of these crimes?” Armstrong was unusually somber and it seemed his personality had been dampened.

 

“Honestly, Major, I don’t. Brigadier-General Mustang doesn’t seem the kind of man to deal with any problematic people in such a matter. I believe something else is going on but I am unfortunately left with only a small amount of wiggle room. Generals Combes and Widdon are not the only Generals who share the same opinion about Mustang,” Brookes answered, completely honestly. Armstrong nodded.

 

“That is what I thought. Thank you for your transparency, Sir,” Major Armstrong offered the tired man a salute who dismissed it almost immediately.

 

“I wish your sister luck in her recovery,” Brookes said, turning and leaving the hallway. He heard Armstrong enter his sister’s hospital room and he sighed as he went to catch up with the Generals. He had a feeling he knew where their next stop was and he decided that he would have no part in that meeting. He really needed a strong drink and there was a very good bottle of scotch in his office waiting for him. 

* * *

 

Grumman had been waiting for Lieutenant-General Armstrong to arrive and had been growing steadily more worried about her the longer the agreed upon time had ticked by. His secretary had knocked and came in to tell him the news of her attack 55 minutes after she had been found. His secretary, a lady named Samantha, had apologised for the delay in the news; she had been the one trying to contact Armstrong’s family and had finally gotten confirmation of where they were and sent a Sergeant to inform them. Grumman had thanked her and asked if there was any information on her prognosis and her attacker.

 

“The woman who was first to find her told the first of the military police on scene that Lieutenant-General Armstrong had said her attacker was wearing a military uniform, white gloves and appeared to be creating sparks with their hands,” Samantha told him and Grumman grimaced as he realised exactly who that described. Samantha empathised. She may not personally like Mustang but she never would have pegged him as the kind of person to do this sort of thing. “As for her prognosis, I’m afraid I have no other information other than her wound didn’t appear fatal,” Samantha told him and Grumman sighed with relief. That was a relief. He couldn’t help but feel partially responsible for the attack. If Lieutenant-General Armstrong hadn’t been on her way to see him, maybe she wouldn’t have been attacked.

 

“Thank you, Samantha. Please keep me updated on her condition as you learn about it,” Grumman requested. Samantha nodded before leaving him alone once more.

 

He sighed and scrubbed his face. He knew the Generals will hear about the attack and what Lieutenant-General Armstrong supposedly said to the lady who found her and he knew it wouldn’t be too long before they came knocking on his door, demanding an arrest warrant. He sighed once more as he realised he would have to give them one. He did tell them they needed physical evidence or an eye witness that placed Brigadier-General Mustang at the scene of a crime and they may have just gotten it.

 

40 minutes worth of paperwork later, a knock sounded at his door again and Samantha stepped into view once he permitted her entrance. She came to stand near his desk before he nodded for her to say whatever she’d entered to say.

 

“I just got off the phone with Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s doctor, Sir. He says she has an open fracture to the skull, a broken rib and a bruised wrist as well as other bruised areas. They’ve had to put her in a medically induced coma to keep a close eye on her head injury and to give her body a chance at healing itself as much as possible before she’d woken up and put under additional stress,” Samantha told him and an annoyed scowl flickered across her face. “Her doctor – a Doctor Evans, by the way – informed me none too kindly that if we wish for Lieutenant-General Armstrong to make the best possible recovery, we should refrain from having Generals turn up and demand she be woken from her coma so they can question her immediately,” Samantha said and Grumman felt his anger bubble up.

 

“I see. Did Dr Evans mention which Generals, by any chance?” Grumman asked and Samantha.

 

“Generals Combes and Widdon, Sir,” Samantha told him and Grumman stifled a groan. Of course it was those two.

 

“Very well. I believe we’ll be expecting the two of them shortly and possibly a couple of the other Generals. Please let them through immediately when they turn up.” Samantha nodded and left once more. Once again, Grumman scrubbed his face before grabbing his pen and getting back to his paperwork, trying to dull his mind so he wouldn’t be able to stew in his anger at two of his Generals turning up at a hospital and acting the way they did. 

* * *

 

Half an hour later, there was a quick warning knock before the doors swung open and Samantha barely got herself out of the way of the Generals storming into his office. She looked like she was going to growl at them before she remembered herself and glanced at Grumman. He held a hand up to indicate she should wait there and she did so, though she looked a little confused.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman-“ General Widdon was the one to start speaking but stopped when Grumman stood up and leveled a glare at him.

 

“All three of you will turn around and apologise to my secretary for the way you just tried to bulldoze through her. I do not care how much of a rush you are in; it would have only taken a few seconds to allow her time to move to the side when she opened the door to permit you entrance to _my_ office,” Grumman ordered them. Samantha looked a little startled while Combes and Widdon looked disgusted they’d have to apologise and surprised at his reaction respectively.

 

Widdon was the first to turn around and apologise to the shocked secretary. After a nudge from his companion, Combes grudgingly offered an apology, though it was evident in his attitude that he didn’t understand why he had to apologise to someone who wasn’t even a member of the military. Grumman nodded to Samantha, who in turn nodded back and left the room, closing the doors behind her.

 

“Now what is so important that you nearly ran over my secretary?” Grumman asked, sitting back in his chair.

 

“We need you to sign an arrest warrant,” Combes said, smiling smugly.

 

“For whom?” Grumman asked as he leaned back in his chair. He knew he was being a little petty but he couldn’t help himself. Widdon handed him the arrest warrant.

 

“For Brigadier-General Roy Mustang, Sir.” The ‘sir’ seemed to have been tacked on as an afterthought by Widdon.

 

“On what grounds are you charging him?” Grumman asked as he accepted the papers from Widdon. Combes made an irritated noise and Grumman raised a brow.

 

“We’re charging him for murder, as you full well know, Fuhrer Grumman,” Combes spat out.

 

“I thought I was clear that you would need an eye witness or physical evidence to arrest Mustang in relation to those crimes,” Grumman said, seemingly unaware of Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s attack.

 

“We have an eye witness, Sir,” Widdon cut in before Combes could say anything and with how purple the man was turning, it was probably a good thing he didn’t get to say anything. “Lieutenant-General Armstrong was attacked this evening, Sir. The waitress who found her told the Private who questioned her that Lieutenant-General Armstrong described her attacker as someone in a military uniform, white gloves and that they were making sparks with the gloves before Armstrong lost consciousness, Sir.” Grumman raised a brow.

 

“Forgive me, General Widdon. I had been told that Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s doctors had been forced to put her in a medically-induced coma after her attack,” Grumman said, still not picking up his pen. He saw a look pass over both Generals’ faces. “This means that she cannot have given you a statement herself yet. All you have to go on is the waitress who was the first to find Lieutenant-General Armstrong, plus the similarities in the scenes. Am I correct?” Grumman asked.

 

“Yes, Sir,” Widdon managed to grind out. Grumman sat there and considered the two men.

 

“You can have your warrant to arrest Brigadier-General Mustang for the suspicion of the murders and Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s attack.” The Generals barely held in their victorious grins though that feeling vanished with Grumman’s next statement. “However, there are three conditions. One: you will wait until Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s doctor and the General herself have agreed to let you question her. Let me be clear here. You will _not_ talk to her until you have both her permission and her doctor’s.” He pinned them with a stare and waited for the terse nods. “The second condition is that _if_ Mustang is actually charged with the crimes in question and his case goes to trial, you will do nothing to push this case to be tried as quickly as possible. You _will_ be giving the defense the time they need to put together a case of their own and you _will not_ deny Mustang his basic right at a fair trial. Let me remind you of the innocent until proven guilty concept you keep forgetting when you start thinking of having Mustang arrested. Amestris’ courts are not for you to use as you see fit to try and get rid of your enemies,” Grumman informed them. Both Generals stiffened at that. “The third and final condition is that Mustang will be treated with the same respect and dignity provided to other prisoners. You are not to interfere in anyway with how he is treated in anyway. He is to be minimally restrained until his court-martial.” Grumman paused until they nodded once more. “If I find out you have tried to weasel your ways around any of the conditions I have just laid out, I will order the case to be dismissed on the grounds of an unfair trial,” Grumman warned them and knew he had them cornered. If they wanted Mustang to go to trial, they would have to follow Grumman’s conditions and if they tried to interfere with the trial to push their agenda, they’d cause the case to be thrown out and they’d lose their one chance to have Mustang imprisoned.

 

“Crystal, Sir,” Widdon said as Combes nodded. Grumman kept his glare on them both for a moment more before reading the arrest warrant and signing it. He didn’t hand it over immediately when Widdon reached for it, however.

 

“The last thing, Generals, is your despicable behavior in the hospital this evening,” Grumman said, moving the warrant out of their reach. “Never did I think that anyone in our military would demand a doctor to reverse a coma they’d been forced to place a patient in well before the time they were ready to come out of it in a blatant display of abusing their power.” The glare he levelled the two men with would have had some men trembling. “Need I remind you that the doctors in our hospitals are _not_ under your command? You had absolutely no right to walk into that hospital and start ordering Doctor Evans around like you did. Not only that but you had the gall to do so in front of Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s family! May I remind you that Major-General Philip Armstrong still holds a lot of sway with this military, despite him being retired? You acted like spoiled children who had their toy taken from them and were demanding it back. You showed complete lack of respect for the doctors in that hospital and absolutely no ounce of empathy for the Armstrong family.” Grumman allowed his anger to bleed into his voice but he never raised it. He had learned long ago that yelling was expected but keeping your voice low made those you were mad at pay attention better. “The two of you represented the entire reason most of the public doesn’t trust the military completely with your disgusting behavior in that hospital,” Grumman snapped.

 

“We apologise for our behavior, Sir. We can only claim that our desire to see justice brought about for the victims and Lieutenant-General Armstrong overrode our common sense and we allowed it to get the best of us,” Widdon said, standing completely straight backed. Combes was standing in a similar fashion but he looked angry that he was being scolded like a naughty child. “We have apologised to Doctor Evans and the Armstrong family and will not allow ourselves to behave like that again. We’re aware of how poorly our actions have affected the military and are sincerely apologetic about it. It won’t happen again,” Widdon claimed.

 

“Well, if your apology was anything like the one you offered Samantha, I can understand why the doctor was still angry when Samantha called them to check on Lieutenant-General Armstrong,” Grumman told them. “You will write a proper apology each. One for Doctor Evans and his staff and one for the Armstrong family. You will both hand deliver your letters and apologise once again in person and you will both have done so by tomorrow afternoon,” Grumman ordered and saw the disbelief in their expressions. “If you want to act like children who didn’t get their way, I will treat you how I treated mine when they acted in a similar fashion,” Grumman said sternly. “You better hope that the Armstrongs and Dr Evans don’t take this any further once you’ve apologised,” Grumman said.

 

“Yes, Fuhrer Grumman,” Both Generals said simultaneously.

 

“Good,” Grumman said, handing over the arrest warrant. “Remember what I said and get out of my office,” He dismissed them brusquely and watched as they left before slumping in his chair once the door shut.  

* * *

 

Mustang had just settled down on his couch to spend some time catching up on his reading not that he wasn’t required to stay back at the office until some late hour to finish up his paperwork. Hawkeye couldn’t believe he was still finishing his paperwork by the deadline (unless something outside of either of their control happened, like that interview earlier in the day) and was convinced he had fallen back on old habits of burning and/or hiding some of his paperwork and had started randomly searching his office. When he’d mentioned in a joking matter that he was wounded by her lack of trust, she had levelled him with the flattest look he’d ever seen and conceded to her silent point.

 

He’d returned to the office shortly after lunch once the Generals had begrudgingly let him go. Brookes had apologised quietly as he held the door open for him and Mustang had simply given him a brief smile before he left. When he entered the office, the two Elric brothers had been and gone already, Hawkeye informing him they had been brought up to speed and that Ed knew not to expect any missions away from Central until this situation had been sorted out. Mustang had thanked her and returned to his desk to get the last of his paperwork done so he could still leave at a reasonable hour, which he had been able to do. He walked out of the office at 6:30pm and was back in his home by 7:30pm, having needed to stop at the grocery store on his home to buy something for dinner or he wouldn’t be eating tonight.

 

He frowned when he heard a loud persistent knock at his door and glanced at his wall clock, frown increasing when he saw that it nearing 11pm. He wasn’t expecting anyone and he certainly didn’t know who could be trying to cave in his door at this time of night. His mind flicked to Edward but dismissed almost as soon as the thought occurred to him. If the blonde was the one knocking on his door right now, he would’ve either already broken it down or he would’ve been yelling at him through it loud enough to wake people three streets down. Or, Mustang grimaced as he got to his feet, Edward could have simply alchemised his way through his door. He’d done that once before. Mustang hadn’t been impressed. But he shook those thoughts from his mind as he grabbed the door handle, unlocked it and opened it.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes,” Mustang said in surprise before realising the man wasn’t the only one standing on his doorstep, nor had he been the one knocking. “Generals Widdon and Combes. And,” he looked at the two Lieutenants with them, “I apologise. I’m not sure we’ve met before.” Mustang nodded to the two Lieutenants. “To what do I owe to this late-night visit?” Mustang asked, having a nasty feeling he already knew, judging from the unbelievably smug expressions on the Generals’ faces and the apologetic one on Brookes’.

 

“I’m sorry, Brigadier-General. We have a warrant signed by Fuhrer Grumman authorizing us to arrest you on suspicion of five counts of murder and one count attempted murder,” Brookes told him. Mustang was only partially surprised at the news.

 

“Who did I allegedly try to kill?” Mustang asked, curiousity winning him over for the moment.

 

“You were seen fleeing after trying to kill Lieutenant-General Olivier Armstrong, Mustang,” Combes crowed, pleased.

 

“I think you’ll find your witness was very mistaken considering I didn’t attack Lieutenant-General Armstrong. I didn’t even know she was in Central already. Last I heard, she had been due to arrive tomorrow,” Mustang told them, not moving an inch from his door way.

 

“It doesn’t matter what lies you try to peddle, Mustang, you’re still under arrest,” Widdon told him and Mustang sighed.

 

“Wait there,” Mustang said before turning to walk to his phone. Movement in the corner of his eye had him stop. “If you take one step inside this house to arrest me, you will regret it. I am permitted to make a phone call and I am not resisting arrest,” Mustang reminded General Combes, who had been the one to try and barge in. After watching them for a moment, Mustang got to his phone, still in sight of the soldiers. He dialed the number he needed. The phone rang twice before being picked up. “Captain Hawkeye. Sorry for the late phone call but there are some Generals at my door with an arrest warrant. Would you please head over here as soon as possible? I need you to secure my house and put in action our plan for this kind of situation.” He paused as he listened to her reply. “Excellent. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” He hung up the phone and went back to the front door. “I will be going with you once my Captain arrives,” he told them, knowing he needed to be seen as cooperative as possible.

 

“You don’t get to dictate the terms of your arrest, Mustang. You will be coming with us right now,” Combes ordered and tried reaching for him but Mustang stepped smoothly out of his reach.

 

“Unfortunately, I need to wait for my Captain to arrive so she can secure anything related to my alchemy. Unless you’d like to explain to the Fuhrer how someone was able to break into my home while I was being held, stole anything I have on my alchemy in this house and started wreaking havoc all of Amestris because you refused to wait ten minutes for Captain Hawkeye to arrive to prevent that from happening?” Mustang asked, a little sarcastically. “I give my word that I will come along quietly but I’m not leaving this house until Captain Hawkeye is here,” Mustang said to Brookes.

 

“That’s fine, Brigadier-General Mustang. We certainly wouldn’t to risk something like that happening,” Brookes told him and Mustang barely kept the smile off his face. The Generals couldn’t try and drag him out of the house without having it look as though they were throwing their rank around and without looking as though they didn’t care about the potential danger Mustang had told them about all because they couldn’t wait ten minutes and they both knew it.

 

A very tense and awkward ten minutes went by and a car pulled in behind Mustang’s own vehicle. Hawkeye climbed out of the back seat and handed some notes over to the driver before she shut the door and they left. She levelled a cold glare on the men before they parted for her. Mustang let her in the house and stood a step or two away from the door.

 

“You know where everything is. Thank you, Captain. Hopefully this gets sorted out quickly and the real killer is caught soon,” Mustang said as he handed her his gloves, in full view of the Generals so they couldn’t claim he still had them on his person, and his keys. “You remember what we discussed?”

 

“Of course, Brigadier-General,” Hawkeye said before snapping him a salute. “I’ll take care of everything on my end,” she assured him and he gave her a grateful grin.

 

“Thank you, Captain,” He said to her before walking over to the door and stepping over the threshold. As he’d hoped, Brookes was the first one to get to him.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang, you are under arrest for the suspicion of the murders of Captain Chase Bryce, Major Colin Pardi, Colonel James Summers, Brigadier-General Aleyce Henley and Major-General Bernard Andrews as well as the attempted murder of Lieutenant-General Olivier Armstrong. At this time, you will be temporarily stripped of your rank however if you are found innocent of all charges, you rank will be reinstated without penalty. You have the right to your own attorney but if you cannot afford one, the court will appoint you one. You have the right to remain silent as anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. Do you understand your rights as I have described them to you?” Brookes asked as he snapped his cuffs around Mustang’s wrists, securing his arms behind him.

 

“I do, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes. I have a lawyer. Captain Hawkeye will undoubtedly be calling him now to meet us,” Mustang told him and Brookes nodded. Mustang got the pleasure of seeing Combes and Widdon’s aggravation at being deprived of the opportunity to be the ones arresting him first hand. He would have laughed in any other sort of situation but all he could feel was a large ball of dread settle in his stomach. However, to Mustang’s surprise, he wasn’t immediately led to the waiting car.

 

“Lieutenant O’Conner, Lieutenant Wayne, please remain here to guard the house from any opportunistic people. Decide between yourselves who will be guarding the back of the property but do not step inside unless you suspect someone to have somehow slipped past the other and is inside. I imagine Captain Hawkeye will be returning to her own home once she has finished what she needs to do and will secure the house up behind herself. You will remain here until you are relieved in a few hours by the next guard rotation. I will accompany them myself so I can get your reports. If I am not with them, do not leave the property,” Brookes ordered the two lieutenants.

 

“Yes, Sir.” The both saluted before relaxing once Brookes released them from the salute.

 

“Can you give Captain Hawkeye a list of the soldiers you plan to use to guard my house? She can tell you if any of them shouldn’t be trusted with this duty,” Mustang requested. The two generals went to say something, mouths forming sneers but Brookes cut them off.

 

“Of course. I had planned to, anyway,” Brookes assured him as they headed towards the cars.

 

Mustang eased himself into the back seat of the one Brookes led him to. He slid over as Brookes gestured for him to do so and the lieutenant-colonel joined him while the two generals split up and settled themselves in their own cars. Mustang rolled his eyes at their silent display of power as Brookes gave their driver instructions to head for the base. Mustang glanced back at his house as he drove away before facing forward once more, trying to fight down the worry he was feeling. Lanco was an excellent lawyer and he had agreed to take Mustang’s case on should he be arrested so Mustang knew he was in safe hands but he couldn’t help his worry. He just hoped this all got sorted before too long.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 –**

News of Mustang’s arrest spread like wildfire throughout Central. It was all anyone could talk about. Ed had been grateful that Hawkeye had called them the minute she could have after Mustang’s arrest to let them know what had happened. They hadn’t spoken for long because she had to alert the rest of the team. Ed had told Gracia who had explained it as best as she could to Elysia at breakfast. He’d also had to try and calm the Lions down enough so he could explain what was going on to them. The fact that all five of them were trying to get answers and assurances he was alright from the blonde had given him a headache and his infamously short patience had snapped, causing him to yell telepathically at them through their bond, immediately startling them into silence. He’d been grouchy and had to take some aspirin for the headache before going to bed but he’d forgiven them when they’d apologised meekly and smothered him with their regret and love to the point where it was almost stifling.

 

Despite her best efforts, Gracia still ended up having to take the day off of work and pull Elysia from school because they were being hammered with questions by friends, coworkers, teachers and strangers alike. Gracia had the opportunity to vent some of her frustration on the principal of her daughter’s school when she, Ed and Al had arrived to pick her up.

 

Gracia had called the boys while she was home, asking if they would be able to meet her at her work place and head to Elysia’s school since there were so many people, mainly reporters, trying to get into her space to get a comment from her. They’d arrived and it took one reporter getting into Ed’s face to learn what happens to voice recorders when they met his alchemy.

 

They’d gotten to Elysia’s school in record time and found the little girl in the office, tears streaming down her face and sobbing quietly to herself, one of her teachers sitting with her, patting her back soothingly as they waited. Elysia spotted them first and was in her mother’s arms faster than humanely possible. It took a little while to get her to settle down enough to tell Gracia what happened. Apparently, Elysia had gotten upset when some children started teasing her when she claimed Mustang was her uncle. The adults hadn’t been any better, asking her questions about her uncle so they could pass the information onto the reporters. Elysia had been reduced to tears when more kids had kept asking what it felt like to have an uncle who killed people. The teacher with her was actually a teacher’s aide and had been the only one to step in and stop the badgering and escort Elysia to the office, call her mother and wait with her.

 

Gracia had listened to all of this, kissed Elysia on the forehead and told her to wait there with her brothers then marched into the Principal’s office. The yelling could be heard from where they were and both brothers had learned a new-found fear for an angry Gracia. She came out of the office fuming but had smoothed her face into a gentle smile before Elysia saw her. She’d thanked the teacher’s aide profusely while Ed gathered Elysia up and handed her over to her mother. The combination of pissed-off Elrics and a seething Gracia had everyone who had thought about approaching them thinking twice.

* * *

Ed had called the office to talk to Hawkeye about what was happening as soon as they got back to Gracia's. He told her about what had happened to Elysia and Gracia and she’d sworn softly because asking if they were alright. Ed had assured her they were fine and asked about what was happening at the office. The Generals had stormed the office early that morning, warrant in hand, and tossed the place, looking for anything that could implicate Mustang in the murders. Hawkeye had been smart enough to anticipate this and remove the spare gloves Mustang kept in the office when she had first arrived that morning. The Generals hadn’t been in a good mood and Hawkeye confided to Ed that she thought it had been because his lawyer – Kenneth Lanco, according to Hawkeye – had been refusing to let Mustang answer any more questions, telling them that he’d answered everything the day previous and that’s what they got to work with.

 

Hawkeye had asked Ed and Al to come in and help them start their own investigation. Ed had promised to be in after lunch. He wanted to make Elysia and Gracia would be alright if they left. Hawkeye had understood and said she’d see him then before hanging up. Ed had gone back to where Gracia had a very sooky Elysia snuggled into her side on the couch. Al had made Gracia a tea and Elysia a hot chocolate and very strong coffee for himself and Ed.

 

“How’s everyone in the office?” Gracia asked.

 

“Swamped. The office got searched by the Generals this morning. They obviously didn’t find anything but they left a massive mess behind themselves. Miss Riza thinks they’re not happy because Mustang got himself a good lawyer and because he’s innocent so there wouldn’t be any evidence that incriminates him laying around,” Ed sighed. “She wants me and Al to go in after lunch and help start investigating.” Ed leant forward and scratched the back of his head, already thinking about all of the work this was going to take. Brookes was a good investigator and Ed knew he wouldn’t have arrested Mustang unless there was plenty of evidence against him.

 

“You’re gonna help Uncle Roy, right?” Elysia asked, voice meek. Ed felt his heart clench a little at her heartbroken face.

 

“We’re gonna try, El,” Ed promised her. Elysia nodded before curling back into her mother’s side.

 

“Mama, I don’t want to go back to school tomorrow.” Elysia said after a little bit of quiet. Gracia shut her eyes as she fought the surge of anger that swelled to the surface at the reminder of what Elysia had gone through.

 

“I’m sorry, darling. I’d love to take some time from work so we could stay home but I couldn’t leave you here by yourself if I had to go to the shops and your brothers will be too busy helping your uncle to look after you,” Gracia told her. Al sat up like he’d gotten an idea.

 

“What if you could stay somewhere in the country? There’d be no one to try and hound you like today and you could get some peace and quiet while we work on this mess. We wouldn’t be waking you up at Truth knows what hour every night when we came back to sleep.” Al suggested and Gracia sighed.

 

“That would be lovely but I don’t know anyone in the country.” Gracia pointed out but Al was already shaking his head and Ed knew what he was about to suggest.

 

“But we do. Our granny lives in Resembool. If you’re lucky, Winry might not have left for Rush Valley yet," Al said.

 

“Big sister Winry?” Elysia asked before Gracia could try and refuse.

 

“Yeah. We can give Pinako a call now and see if we can’t get you on this afternoon’s train. One of us will be able to come back to help you get to the train station with no problems. I might even be able to steal a car from the military,” Ed said and Elysia looked a lot livelier at the thought of seeing her big sister. Gracia looked at them both for a few moments before sighing.

 

“Only if Pinako is okay with it," she relented and Ed went straight back to the phone, dialing a familiar number. It rang a few times before a peppy voice sounded on the other end with a familiar greeting.

 

 _“Rockbell’s automail. How may we help you?”_ Winry said and Ed gave a small sigh of relief.

 

“Winry, it’s Ed. Is Granny there?” Ed asked, wincing at his tone but he was in a little bit of a rush.

 

 _“Edward Elric! This is the first time you’ve called in how long and you’re using that tone on me?”_ Winry asked and Ed sighed.

 

“Winry, I don’t have the time. Can you please hand the phone to Granny?” He asked, tone a little nicer if still slightly annoyed. She huffed and he knew he would pay for this at a later date but right now, he didn’t mind.

 

 _“Fine. Here she is,”_ Winry said before there was a noise as the phone was handed over.

 

 _“Edward.”_ Granny’s croaky voice sounded over the phone.

 

“Granny, I need a favour,” Ed said and Granny scoffed.

 

 _“I figured as much. What’s wrong?”_ She asked and Ed sighed.

 

“Mustang’s been arrested for the string of murders that’s happened in Central recently. Have you heard about them?” Granny made an affirmative noise. “He’s being framed and we need the time to prove it," he said.

 

 _“I’m not hearing anything that sounds like a favour,”_ Granny pointed out.

 

“I know. Look, people know that Miss Gracia and Elysia are basically Mustang’s family and they’re hounding them in the streets. They cornered Elysia at school and questioned her, Granny. She’s getting bullied and harassed and Mustang only got arrested last night. Gracia’s work place is barely any better,” Ed explained and he heard Granny mutter some choice words before sucking in a deep breath, breathing in her pipe smoke, Ed figured.

 

 _“You want to know if they can stay here for the foreseeable future,”_ Granny didn’t ask and Ed nodded before remembering she couldn’t see him.

 

“Please,” he said and Granny sighed.

 

 _“Winry is leaving for Rush Valley again in a couple of days. I would welcome the help around here and the fresh air would do them both some good. Alright, Ed. They can stay here,”_ she told him and Ed sighed in relief.

 

“You’re the best, Granny. I’m gonna see if they can catch this afternoon’s train. I’ll give you a call back when they’re booked.” Ed said and Granny hummed affirmatively before hanging up and Ed headed back to the lounge room. “Granny said you’re welcome to stay. Winry will be there for a couple of days before she has to go back to Rush Valley so you’ll be able to catch up with her.” Elysia smiled excitedly and Gracia looked relieved.

 

“I’ll need to pack our things, call my work and Elysia’s school,” Gracia said. Ed and Al nodded.

 

“We’ll head to the office. Miss Riza can help us get you tickets a lot easier than we could get them,” Ed told her and she nodded. “Will you two be alright by yourselves?” Ed couldn’t help but ask and Gracia gave a soft smile.

 

“Of course we will,” Gracia told them. Elysia nodded confidently and the boys couldn’t argue with that. Elysia and Gracia gave them a quick hug each before both Elrics tore out of the house and were at the office in record time. 

* * *

 

The first thing Ed thought was that a hurricane tore through the office as he opened the door. Hawkeye wasn’t anywhere in sight but every other member of Mustang’s team was and they looked relieved to see the boys enter the office.

 

“I’d ask how your morning’s going but I think I have a good idea,” Ed said with a grimace. Files and papers were strewn across the desks and floors. Books and folders had been torn from bookshelves, flipped through and thrown to the floor. Desks and chairs weren’t where they normally were, the filing cabinets were leaning precariously and that was just the outer office.

 

“Yeah. It hasn’t been fun,” Havoc said with a tight smile. Ed shook his head.

 

“I need to talk to Miss Riza for a minute then I’ll help you lot. Where is she?” Ed asked and Falman pointed to the inner office. “Do I even wanna know what they did in there?” Ed looked at the room like it might try and eat him. That caused Fuery to giggle and Breda to chuckle while Havoc huffed as he grinned.

 

“Probably not,” Havoc told him grimly and Ed sighed.

 

“Al, you start helping out here,” Ed said and his brother didn’t argue, just went over to Fuery and asked where he should start. Ed headed for the inner office, trying to watch his step but it was practically impossible to miss everything and he gave up after a few steps.

 

He entered the office and it looked like a paper bomb went off in here as well. Papers and books were everywhere, coating every surface they shouldn’t be. The couches had their cushions pulled out and Mustang’s desk drawers were pulled open haphazardly. His pens and photos were on the ground and the bookshelves had obviously been moved but been righted once more. Hawkeye was busy reorganising Mustang’s desk when Ed walked in.

 

“Edward,” Hawkeye greeted, surprised to see him. “I hadn’t expected you until after lunch. Is everything alright?” She asked worriedly.

 

“Yeah. Actually, Granny Pinako has agreed to let Miss Gracia and Elysia crash at hers so they’re away from all of this.” Ed gestured to everything around him. “I was hoping that you might be able to book them a ticket each for the train this afternoon once we’ve gotten this mess organised a little bit.” Honestly, as the messiest person he knew, Ed was almost amazed by how much of a mess the Generals and their team had managed to make.

 

“Of course. Will I be booking one for you or Alphonse?” Hawkeye asked.

 

“Uh, probably not. Not unless something happens and one of us needs to go with them,” Ed told her and she looked relieved. “Al’s helping the crew out there. Would you like my help in here?” Ed asked and Hawkeye nodded.

 

“Please,” she said. “You can start by gathering the book and arranging them once more," she told him. “Actually, there’s something Brigadier-General Mustang and I talked about that I need to tell you about,” Hawkeye informed him. The look on her face said this was very serious.

 

“Sure thing, Miss Riza,” Ed said, frowning as he wondered what it could be about. The Lions were also curious and made sure he knew as he headed for the door to poke his head out so he could see everyone else. “I’m gonna help out in here for a while,” Ed told them and got nods of acknowledgement before turning to the task given to him by Hawkeye as she started speaking. The more she spoke, the more surprised he was by the discussion. 

* * *

 

Not even two hours after the brothers’ arrival, the office doors burst open once more, startling those who had been too deep in their work. The team looked up to see Generals Widdon and Combes walking into the office, stepping on random pieces of paper they could have easily avoided. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes walked in behind them, taking far more care than his bosses. Ed and Hawkeye walked out of the inner office, both levelling them with a flat look that was difficult to maintain as he heard Red’s whispered ‘this is going to be great’ to the other Lions and he knew the Paladins would be waiting to hear what was happening.

 

“Generals whoever. Lieutenant-Colonel Brooks. What can we not help you with today?” Edward asked, cocking a hip to the side, with his arms crossed. Hawkeye flanked his right side. The team and Al weren’t the only ones whose mouths were open with shock while the Lions cackles reverberated in Ed’s mind.

 

“You will talk to your superiors with the respect owed them, _Major_ Elric,” Combes blustered, emphasising Ed’s rank to further his point.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, actually. I accepted my promotion this morning. Effective immediately.” Al and everyone aside from Hawkeye and Falman looked shocked and Ed didn’t blame them. He didn’t care about his rank but this would bring him on equal footing with Brookes and it served another purpose. “That aside, I showed respect to the one person who just entered this room who has actually earned some from me.” A pointed look to Brookes made it clear who Ed was talking about.

 

“Brother,” Al whispered warningly, shooting him a terrified look.

 

 _“You tell them,”_ Red whispered encouragingly at the same time as Al spoke. Ed winked at Al before turning back to the seriously pissed off Generals.

 

“I’m fairly certain I asked you two a question,” Ed said. “Actually, I asked two but let’s focus on the first question. Why are you here?” Ed tapped a foot impatiently as he watched them. Havoc and Breda looked like the were watching the most interesting thing they’d ever seen. Fuery and Al looked like they thought they were about to witness a death. Falman and Hawkeye were standing at Ed’s back, the older man having moved to cover his left.

 

“Congratulations on your promotion, Edward.” Brookes smiled genuinely at him before it fell from his face. “We need the gloves Brigadier-General Mustang was wearing the night Lieutenant-General Armstrong was attacked,” Brookes said quickly. Ed cocked his head before looking at Hawkeye.

 

“Do you know which pair they were?” She nodded. “Can you grab them please?” She turned smartly on her heel and headed for her things before returning with a pair of gloves with familiar red arrays on them. She held them out for Ed before resuming her spot behind him. “You may take these so long as they never leave 2nd Lieutenant Falman’s eyesight. Once the last person has run whatever test needed on them, they will be returned to Falman in a clear bag, sealed however you see fit to prevent tampering before they come back to me. I’ll set an alchemic trap on them so that if someone manages to get around your measures, they’ll be caught by mine. They will then remain in Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ custody at all times. Once Mustang is out of prison, Brookes will give them back to him. Deal?” Ed asked Brookes.

 

“Deal,” Brookes said, shaking Ed’s hand to seal the deal. Ed handed the gloves over to Falman, who nodded at Ed before following Brookes out of the office.

 

 _“Good job. Now, deal with those idiots,”_ Green said encouragingly. She was as anxious as the other Lions to see Ed continue verbally own the generals.

 

“Why are you still here?” Ed asked the Generals, honestly annoyed now.

 

“Major Elric, you are being completely insubordinate. If this continues, you will be disciplined accordingly,” Widdon threatened.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel and I’d be more concerned if I were in fact your subordinate. However, I’m not so I ain’t,” Ed told them

 

“We are of higher rank than yourself, whether you’re a Lieutenant-Colonel or a Major,” Widdon told him. “You may not be under our direct command but you are of lower rank and still subject to the same protocols as any other member of the military, excluding the Fuhrer, and you are required to show the same respect and level of subordination as you show your commanding officer,” General Widdon informed him. His voice was smug but his satisfied smile disappeared when Edward’s smirk turned victorious.

 

“I suggest you read my contract with the military, Generals,” Ed said, his voice turning very smug. “My five-year contract states clearly that I only answer directly to two people: Brigadier-General Mustang and the Fuhrer himself. If I follow anyone else’s orders, it’s solely because I want to. In case you were wondering why; the then-Fuhrer suggested it so I wouldn’t be taken advantage of people who would have tried to manipulate a 12-year-old to do their dirty work by pulling rank,” Ed informed them and even Alphonse blinked in surprise. He’d forgotten about that clause in Edward’s contract. “So, let’s try this one more time since you haven’t yet answered this question; why are you here still?” Ed asked, speaking clearly and slowly.

 

“We’re here to assign the _former_ Brigadier-General’s team members to their new commanding officers.” Combes sneered.

 

“No, you’re not,” Ed told them. “Team members can only be reassigned if their commanding officer is arrested, retires, passes away or is grievously injured and recovery will take longer than a set time _and_ ,” Ed emphasized the word when Combes went to say something to show he was still talking, “there is no one ranked ‘Major’ or above who is willing or in a position to take over temporary or permanent leadership of the team,” Ed told them. “I don’t know if you heard or not but I’m now a Lieutenant-Colonel which means that I can and have assumed leadership of this team,” Ed said.

 

“That’s only if the Fuhrer signs off on the change in team leader,” Widdon said. “Until then, we can do as we see fit.” Hawkeye produced a piece of paper, handed it to Ed, who in turn handed it to Widdon.

 

“Signed this morning and effective immediately,” Ed told him and watched as Widdon clutched the leadership transfer with Fuhrer Grumman’s signature on it, crumpling it in his anger. “Now, if that is finally all; mind getting out of my office so we can get back to work? Dunno if you know this but there’s a serial killer on the loose and someone ordered the arrest of the wrong man,” Ed told them. Widdon and Combes both snarled at him before Combes’ eyes settled on Alphonse. He turned to Ed, eyes glinting in victory once more.

 

“Civilians who don’t work for the military aren’t permitted to look into any of the military’s files; criminal or otherwise,” he told Ed. Ed considered this for a moment before turning to Alphonse.

 

“Hey, Al? Wanna be signed on as my aide? The pay’s shit and the work sucks but you’ll get to catch a serial killer and stop people jailing an innocent man to further their political or personal agendas,” Ed offered and Al thought about for a moment before grinning.

 

“Sure, brother,” Al said easily.

 

“Captain Hawkeye, can you do up some paperwork for him to sign please?” Ed asked and Hawkeye allowed herself to smile at him as she nodded. Ed turned to the two Generals and raised a brow. “Anything else?” He asked. They snarled before turning to leave, the door slamming so viciously, it sent a gust of wind through the room, picking up some papers before dissipating. “How rude,” Ed said before facing the team to be greeted with three faces of complete shock.

 

“Damn, Chief.” Havoc’s voice was awed and slightly scared and with those two words, it was like a dam broke as Havoc, Breda and Fuery started questioning him all at the same time, their voices melding into one – the Lions adding to the mix in Ed’s head – before Ed whistled loudly, effectively shutting everyone up.

 

“Thank you,” Ed said before holding a hand up. “Let me explain what’s happening. I’m in charge on paper. Miss Riza will be the one calling the shots, unless the Generals or people like them are within ear shot. Mustang and Miss Riza came up with it when they started preparing for his possible arrest. This was the only way to keep the team together and let us work on the case. The fact that I’ll be answering solely to the Fuhrer means that you will be as well since I’m technically the person in charge here. Al coming on as my aide was admittedly not part of the plan but I had to think of something. Don’t worry, Al, I’ll fire you after this.” He grinned as Al rolled his eyes.

 

“Not if I quit first, brother,” Al said cheekily. The others laughed at their banter before silence reigned over them once more. Al frowned. “Why were you really pissing off the Generals, brother? You’ve never revealed that particular clause in your contract and you’ve never been that rude to higher ups you don’t like without good reason,” Al asked. Everyone else, including Hawkeye, looked interested.

 

“If I humiliate them like that in front of witnesses,” he gestured to all of them, “they’ll split their attention between me and Mustang. If they’re too worried about getting Mustang jailed and trying to get back at the 17-year-old kid who humiliated them in front of people, they won’t pay much attention to what you lot are doing,” Ed told them. “It’ll take some of the heat off of you guys and let you do your jobs a shit ton easier if you don’t have Generals trying to block your moves at every turn.” Ed shrugged a shoulder. “Also, it was a lot of fun,” Ed grinned, causing them all to laugh as the awed silence disappeared. Hawkeye shook her head fondly.

 

“Well, I guess congratulations are in order for your promotion, Lieutenant-Colonel,” Havoc grinned as he offered a salute. His grin widened when everyone else followed suit and Ed groaned.

 

“You all suck,” Ed said playfully. “I can’t believe that damned bastard kept the paperwork for my promotion. I figured he would’ve burned it since he wouldn’t have gotten in as much trouble for it,” Ed muttered. Hawkeye raised a brow but said nothing to that.

 

“We should get to work,” Hawkeye said instead. “We still need to organise this office and start our own investigation,” she reminded them.

 

“We may also have insider help,” Ed grinned after a moment of no one knowing where to really start, holding up a folded piece of paper.

 

“What’s that?” Fuery asked as everyone looked at the paper curiously.

 

“Brookes slipped it to me,” Ed said as he unfolded and read the paper. “He says he’s been officially ordered to not give us access to the case files but he’ll be out of the office with most of his team from 12-1pm today and he happened to make copies of all the files last night and left them in boxes next to his bookshelf,” Ed told them, his grin reflected on everyone’s faces when he looked back up. Ed could feel the Lions begrudging respect of Brookes, which made his grin widen slightly. The phone ringing had Hawkeye shaking her head as she made her way to it and answered it.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang’s office," she said simply. She expected another reporter or military higher up to call and see what information they could get from her but that wasn’t what she got. “May I ask why?” She said, listening to the response before frowning again. “Very well. He’ll be on this afternoons train," she told the other person before wishing them a good day and hanging up.

 

“What’s up, Miss Riza?” Ed asked, causing her to meet his eyes.

 

“You’ll be heading to Resembool with Gracia and Elysia this afternoon, Ed," she told him. His eyebrows disappeared into his fringe in surprise. “That was one of the military police officers stationed in Resembool. He said a group of strangers appeared out of nowhere before telling the first officer wearing a military uniform they saw that they needed to meet with the Fullmetal Alchemist. When they were asked to produce papers proving they were in the country legally and couldn’t, the officer arrested them. They asked him to call you and have you head to Resembool so that the situation could be dealt with,” Hawkeye said. Ed sighed.

 

“I swear to fuck if it’s Ling, I’ll end him,” Ed hissed, making the others struggle not to laugh as they remembered the handful that was the Xingese prince who helped them with Promised Day. The Lions – privy to Ed’s memories – really did laugh, causing Ed to scowl mentally at them.

 

“Would you like me to book you on this afternoons train when I book Gracia and Elysia on it?” Hawkeye asked and Ed nodded, inhaling deeply.

 

“Yeah might as well. At least this way I can make sure no one harasses them on the train,” Ed said, struggling to keep a hold of that silver lining.

 

“And Alphonse?” Hawkeye asked. Al looked at Ed hopefully but Ed shook his head.

 

“No. He’ll stay here to help. Listen,” Ed said when Al started to protest. Al shut his mouth but he didn’t look happy about it, “I need you here to go through the files and look for evidence of alchemy being used. Brookes is good but I don’t know how good he or anyone on his team is at spotting the signs. Even the best alchemy leaves some sort of trace. You need to be here to look for it,” Ed told him. “If that soldier had said the people had been asking for you, I’d send you and stay here myself, even though I’d want to go with you,” Ed told him and Al sighed.

 

“Okay, brother. I’ll stay here and help Captain Hawkeye and everyone,” Al agreed though he still pouted at Ed.

 

“Thank you, Alphonse,” he said, looking up at the clock and noting the time. “Look on the bright side. In 45 minutes, you can come and me and Havoc rob someone’s office,” he told him, grinning when Al predictably rolled his eyes but stopped pouting.

 

“I get to rob an office? Sweet,” Havoc said excitedly.

 

“And Falman too, if he’s back before then,” Ed told him. “In the meantime, I think we should probably do as Miss Riza suggested and get back to cleaning,” Ed suggested before heading back to Mustang’s inner office to finish organising what he and Hawkeye hadn’t managed to before the Generals had burst through the doors. Hawkeye rejoined him and they got to work. 

* * *

 

40 minutes later, Havoc came to grab him from the cleaning. Falman wasn’t back yet but Ed would’ve been more surprised if he had been. He knew it probably would’ve taken more than an hour and a half for the lab techs to take whatever samples and photos they needed to of the gloves before sealing them then bringing them to him for him to set his own surprise for anyone who tried to get to them. The three of them headed towards Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ office as casually as they could. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be on lunch as well so they only saw a couple of other people. Ed peered around the door and spotted one lone person still in the office and he felt himself grin before he strode inside.

 

“Hey, Miss Sheska!” He greeted happily, causing the mousey brunette to jump slightly and whirl to face the speaker.

 

“Edward!” She gasped as she stood and greeted him with a hug. “I didn’t realise you would be dropping by today. How are you? How’s the team?” She asked, voice growing quiet as she asked.

 

Alphonse and Havoc chose that moment to enter the office. They received their own greetings from the former librarian and they settled behind Ed patiently.

 

“I’m good and the team’s okay. We’re actually here to grab a couple of things from Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes so this is only a quick visit, I’m afraid,” he said apologetically. She gave him an understanding smile.

 

“That’s alright, Ed. Do you guys know what you need or do you want some help? The Lieutenant-Colonel is out to lunch, you see.” She told them.

 

“I figured he was since he didn’t greet us,” Ed said. “I think we’ll be alright, Miss Sheska, but if we need, I’ll let you know.” He smiled at her and she shooed them towards the door.

 

It didn’t take them long to find the boxes since they were sitting right where Brookes had told them. However, there were 8 boxes and only three of them. They managed however and were soon heading back out to the main office where Sheska was sitting once.

 

“Thanks, Miss Sheska! We’ll see you later!” Ed told her, looking back and smiling.

 

“Are you alright with all of that?” She asked, looking at them with worry as they filed past her.

 

“Yup. See you, Miss Sheska!” Ed called, barely catching her own goodbye as he headed out of the office. Sheska shook her head as she sat back down at her desk and dug back into her lunch and smiling to herself. They’d managed to take all of the boxes Brookes had set aside for them so they could try and save Brigadier-General Mustang. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes will be able to relax a little, knowing someone who wasn’t under the Generals’ control would be able to investigate what he couldn’t. 

* * *

 

Havoc almost literally bumped into Falman and Brookes on the way to the office. Brookes looked at the boxes in their arms before pretending he didn’t see them at all and turned to Ed.

 

“Can you seal the bag the gloves are in please?” Brookes asked as Falman produced the bag. Ed eyed the gloves before dropping the boxes to the ground and reaching out for them. Falman handed them over immediately and Ed studied the bag they were in. It was a simple plastic bag, completely clear with a label that told anyone who read it that the contents were evidence in a case, followed by the case number and a signature from whoever put the gloves in the bag and from Brookes. A clap later had blue energy dance over the bag before Ed handed it to Brookes. “What did you do to it?” Brookes asked when he didn’t see a difference.

 

“Anyone who opens that bag before I’ve dismantled that trap will make the gloves explode and burn.” Ed told him. Brookes looked mildly intrigued.

 

“Thank you, Ed.” He eyed up the boxes. “I hope you and your team enjoy your lunch. I’ll leave you to it,” Brookes said, placing the bagged gloves in his pocket. “I need to go find a secure spot for these to stay,” He told them before leaving. Falman went to follow but Ed shook his head.

 

“Don’t worry. He has a safe in his office. He’ll put them in there,” Ed told him before nodding to the other two. “Let’s get these files back,” Ed said. Falman grabbed a box from Ed and Havoc’s piles before they could say anything and helped them cart them to the office.

 

Hawkeye, Breda and Fuery all looked up upon their entrance and came over to relieve them of a box each, the exception being Ed, who just took both of his boxes and dumped them on the desk. Hawkeye set about organising which box contained what while the men finished up cleaning the last bit of the office. By the time they were done, Hawkeye was as well and had assignments for everyone except Ed.

 

“You need to head back to Gracia’s and head to the train station, Sir. Your train leaves at 2,” She told him and Ed saw the clock read just past 1pm.

 

“Alright. I’ll be back on tomorrow mornings train and I’ll come straight here. Make sure Al signs whatever paperwork he needs to so he can’t be kicked off the base,” Ed said before telling everyone goodbye.

 

“You stay safe,” Al said when he hugged him goodbye.

 

“You too,” Ed said, squeezing him back. He let go of his brother, clapped him on the shoulder before waving goodbye to everyone and heading to the car park. 

* * *

 

He found a Sergeant who was willing to drive him to Gracia’s and wait to take him to the train station before heading back to Central Command. The drive was quick and the two men didn’t talk beyond more than Ed giving the man the address he needed to go to. Once he’d parked in front of the house, Ed told Sergeant Browning he should only be a few minutes. The Sergeant had assured him he wouldn’t be going anywhere. Ed thanked him and headed inside.

 

“El? Miss Gracia?” Ed called as he opened the door and was greeted by Elysia clamping onto his legs and Gracia heading down the stairs, a medium-sized suitcase in one hand, her purse over her shoulder and Elysia’s suitcase in her other hand. “Hey, all ready to go?” Ed asked.

 

“Hey, Ed. Yes, Elysia just needs to go get her teddy,” Gracia reminded her and the girl gasped before racing back up the stairs. “How’s everything at the office?” She asked while Elysia was busy.

 

“The office got raided this morning, like I told you. Al and I were helping when the Generals came back because they wanted Mustang’s gloves to test them.” Ed grinned. “They got the pair that Miss Riza said were the ones he was wearing the night Armstrong got attacked but not before I gave them several conditions that had to be met. Brookes was there, thankfully, and agreed to them before the Generals could pitch a fit,” he told her. “Also, I’ve been promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and you’re looking at the new team leader. At least on paper. Miss Riza will still be in charge like she normally is but this way no one can try and split the team and prevent us from investigating the case,” Ed told her with a smirk.

 

“Well, congratulations on your promotion and new position,” Gracia said, giving him a soft smile as Elysia bounded down the stairs.

 

“Are you taking us to the train station, big brother Ed?” Elysia asked as he took the suitcases from Gracia.

 

“Even better,” Ed told her. “I’m heading to Resembool with you.” He grinned at her when she gasped in excitement.

 

“Really?” She asked and Ed nodded. She cheered with excitement while Gracia looked confused.

 

“I’ll explain on the train,” Ed told her and Gracia nodded. “Now, we need to go or we’re gonna miss it!” Ed told Elysia. The two Hughes’ got into the car while Ed stored their gear before climbing in himself and nodding to Sergeant Browning, who took the hint and started the drive to the station.

 

They got there with ten minutes to spare and Ed unloaded the boot before thanking the Sergeant and sending him back to the office. The man hesitated long enough for Ed to get curious and ask what was wrong.

 

“Sir, I was wondering if you would like me to arrange for some to pick you from the station tomorrow?” Browning asked. Ed was surprised at the offer.

 

“Actually, that would be really handy. I'll be on the first train out of Resembool in the morning,” Ed told him. Browning nodded, saluted and left when Ed waved him off. The blonde turned back to the two girls. “Come on. Let’s get our tickets and get on the train.” He said, preventing Gracia from asking the question she obviously wanted to.

 

Ed had to glare at a few people who had tried to weasel their way near the three of them when they were lining up at the ticket collection booth and he lifted his top lip in a snarl at those who were carrying notepads and recorders and trying to approach them. Ed grabbed the three tickets and gave Gracia and Elysia theirs before leading them to the train and following them aboard. He led them to the private booth Hawkeye had taken the liberty to book for them. Elysia was excited to have a whole compartment for them to use and sat next to the window so she could watch the people going past. Ed shut the door behind himself and sprawled on the opposite bench.

 

“Edward?” Gracia called and Ed hummed. “How come you’re going to Resembool with us?” She asked and Ed groaned as he sat up.

 

“Miss Riza got a phone call after we dealt with the Generals. A military police officer stationed in Resembool had arrested some strangers because they weren’t from Amestris and didn’t have any papers to permit them entrance into the country. They didn’t resist or anything but they asked that the officer call the Fullmetal Alchemist and have him come down to see them,” Ed told her.

 

“Some of your friends got arrested like Uncle Roy?” Elysia asked but Ed shook his head.

 

“I don’t know, El. I don’t know who they are. I’m just hoping they aren’t Ling or his posse. I dealt with them once and that was more than enough to last me a lifetime,” Ed told her. “I’ll know if they’re friends of mine or not when I meet with them," he said, leaning back in his seat as he heard the train blow its whistle and the conductor announce their imminent departure.

 

“Who do you think they are?” Gracia asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“No idea. I know a lot of people who aren’t from Amestris and have a tendency to sneak into the country. I know who it definitely isn’t so that narrows it down a lot,” Ed told her and they fell into silence as they listened to the train rumbling on the tracks.

 

“Maybe it’s someone who can help,” Gracia said hopefully. Ed nodded.

 

“Maybe. It would be nice to have more hands on this case. I have a feeling the Generals are going to try and push this case to be tried quickly,” Ed confided. Gracia didn’t look impressed at that thought and Ed didn’t blame her. Gracia pulled two books out of her suitcase and handed one to Ed, who took it and recognised it as one of his new alchemy texts.

 

“I figured you’d get bored on the train trip so I grabbed it just before we left,” she explained and Ed grinned while she gave Elysia her own book and reached for her light novel.

 

“Thanks, Miss Gracia,” Ed said as he delved into the pages. Gracia smiled at him before turning to her own book.

 

Ed felt the Lions press curiously on his mind once more. They had been silent ever since the generals and their teams had left the office, not wanting to disrupt him while he was busy but now they wanted to know everything that happened so Ed told them, bringing them up to speed and ending with the fact that he was on a train heading for his home town. None of the Lions had been impressed when he said that part of the reason was because of Gracia and Elysia.

 

 _“Damned vultures can’t let anyone have any peace,”_ Red had scowled and Ed agreed completely.

 

 _“At least they’re going somewhere safe and quiet,"_  Blue said soothingly and Ed appreciated her efforts to calm them all down. It made what he was going to ask a little harder and the Lions picked up on his hesitance.

_“What’s the matter, young alchemist?”_ Black asked, using her nickname for him to try and soften him enough to help him come clean. Ed almost hated the fact that it worked.

 

“Look, I don’t want to ask but I need to. I can’t have anything distract me while I try and sort this shit out with Mustang and the military. Please don’t be mad but is there any way we can mute the bond so that I can’t hear you all as well as I can? I don’t want it severed completely, just muted," he assured them, guilt roiling through their bond without his permission at the fact that he wanted the connection dulled. He felt the Lions’ shock and mentally prepared himself for their reactions, convinced they wouldn’t be anything good.

 

 _“Oh, Ed, don’t feel bad for asking us that! We understand completely,"_  Blue said gently, letting a wave of calm run through her and Ed’s bond, causing the blonde to almost gasp in shock. Gracia flicked her eyes up at him but pretended to not see how his eyes watered suspiciously.

 

 _“Blue’s right. Besides, in a day or two, we would’ve been asking you the same any way,”_ Black told him, successfully turning Ed’s guilt into curiousity.

 

“How come?” He asked, brows furrowing as he tried to figure out what could possibly have the Lions dull their bond with him.

 

 _“We will be going on several missions shortly, one right after the other and will need to work without the risk of any kind of distraction. Given how often you get in fights, we were going to ask to mute our bonds so we weren’t distracted,”_ Green teased lightly, causing Ed to scoff and roll his eyes mentally.

 

“It’s not my fault criminals are idiots!” Ed insisted, relief overtaking his mind at the fact that the Lions weren’t mad about his request about the bond. The Lions laughed at his defensive comment. “Are you guys going to be okay?” Ed asked somberly, not envying the Lions nor their Paladins having to run constant back-to-back missions. Blue, Yellow and Green cooed at his concern for them.

 

 _“We’ll be fine. We’ll contact you when we’re done. If you’ve saved Mustang by then, we’ll bring each other up to speed. If not, we’ll wait for you. If you finish your mission before we do, knock on the bond and we’ll know to bring the block down when we’re done,”_ Black said decisively and Edward found himself nodding along with the plan.

 

 _“Do we need to mute the bond now though?”_ Blue asked, hopeful the answer would be ‘no’ and she couldn’t help the happiness she felt when Ed told her he was happy to keep the bond normal until he’d reached Granny’s, wanting the time it took to deal with whoever or whatever was waiting at the Resembool Military Police station to get used to the muted bond, knowing it would likely be a jarring change.

 

“So, what’s been happening on your end?” Ed asked, lying on the train bench and closing his eyes, resting his unread book on his abdomen as he listened to the Lions fight over who would get to regale him with their stories first. Incidentally, Ed missed the fond look Gracia gave him, happy to see her pseudo-son so happy and relaxed for the first time since he’d been told about Major-General Andrews death. She felt exceptionally grateful for Ed’s mental link with the Voltron Lions staying intact in that moment. 

* * *

 

Alphonse groaned as he flicked through more crime scene photos. They’d been working for a few hours and Al was ready to tear his hair out. The pictures of the bodies were horrific to look at but Al could feel his mind numbing to them slowly the longer he studied them. He wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

 

“Everything okay, Alphonse?” Hawkeye asked kindly as she looked up from her own file. Havoc and Ed were the only team members not in the office at the moment and that was because Ed was on a train and Havoc was getting dinner for everyone.

 

“I don’t know,” Al admitted. “I’ve never studied what fire alchemy does to a body and I’ve never paid any attention to things Mustang has blown up so I don’t know what markers I should be looking for to tell me whether flame alchemy was used here,” Al said, leaning back in his chair.

 

“So, what do you need?” Hawkeye asked. Al shrugged.

 

“I just don’t know. Flame alchemy isn’t like any other alchemy. You don’t manipulate anything physical to create it. When brother and I alchemise something, we use physical materials and if you take a close look at any of our transmutations, even the ones we weren’t in a rush to perform, you’ll see small marks that tell you it was made with alchemy. Fire alchemy isn’t created like that. The only thing I can study is the remains or whatever the fire touched and it’s not like I’ve spent years studying that,” Al told her, getting slightly more frustrated the more he talked.

 

“So you need someone who is an expert to help you? To point out the things you need to keep an eye out for?” Hawkeye asked and Al nodded sullenly. “1st Lieutenant Breda?” Hawkeye called and he gave her his full attention.

 

“Yes, Captain?” He asked, looking between Al and Hawkeye.

 

“Please escort Alphonse to the holding cells so he can talk to Brigadier-General Mustang,” Hawkeye ordered. “He needs to speak to an expert in fire alchemy," she told him, giving Al a smile. The blonde returned it and snatched up the photos of the victims he was studying.

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Breda said before the two left the office, Breda leading the way. They ran into Havoc and told them where they were going and warning him that there had better be food left for them when they get back. 

* * *

 

The walk to the holding cells took a little while since they were in a separate building on base. Breda nodded to the guard at the front door before stopping in front of the front desk and telling them who they were here to see. The guard nodded and waved them through once they signed the visitor's log and Breda had handed over his firearm. They walked along the corridor, following the guard’s instruction before ending up in front of the cell Mustang was situated in.

 

The man looked unkempt. He was dressed in drab grey clothing; a long sleeved, loose fitting shirt and a pair of matching pants. He had on a pair of white shoes and his hands were bound using the restraint specially made for alchemists, a wooden board that had two holes carved in it for his wrists and a lock on the end to ensure that the two pieces couldn’t be separated. His hair was messy and not in the way he normally kept it and he looked like he had a permanent scowl on his face though it vanished when he saw who was actually visiting.

 

“Breda? Alphonse?” He blinked at them and Al figured that was fair. He probably hadn’t expected the two of them to be some of the first visitors he got.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang,” Breda said, offering a salute that Mustang waved away.

 

“How are you, Sir?” Al asked and Mustang sighed.

 

“Bored, if I’m being honest. I’d almost welcome Hawkeye bringing me paperwork," he joked.

 

“I can sympathise, Sir. The holding cells at Fort Briggs weren’t that entertaining either,” Al smiled at him in solidarity.

 

“Yeah, I think I would rather be here than in Fort Briggs’ cells. Has there been any word on Lieutenant-General Armstrong?” Mustang asked, seemingly casually but Breda and Al knew why he was really asking. If Armstrong succumbed to her wounds, his charges would be increased to six counts of murder and the outcome would not be good for him.

 

“She’s still in a coma, Sir. Dr Evans told me they likely won’t wake her until tomorrow but that her prognosis is good. They're optimistic there'll be no permanent damage,” Breda told him. Mustang nodded and no one spoke for a second.

 

“So what’s happened? My lawyer hasn’t been by today yet and he couldn’t tell me much last night when the Generals were trying to interrogate me,” Mustang told them.

 

“We got to witness Ed verbally slaughter the Generals,” Breda told him and Mustang grinned. “It was glorious.” Breda said, grinning when Mustang let out a bark of laughter.

 

“I can only imagine. Did everything go as planned?” He asked and Al nodded.

 

“They tried using their rank to threaten Ed into behaving, threatening discipline if he didn’t; he told them about his contract and his promotion.” Al raised a brow at Mustang, who grinned innocently at him. “Then they tried to split the team and Ed handed them the signed change of leadership form. Their last attempt to get one over on brother was them trying to tell him that civilians weren’t permitted to look at any military files, including open criminal cases,” Al told him. “Brother hired me as his personal aide on the spot.” Mustang’s grin didn’t dissipate.

 

“I would’ve paid good money to witness that, especially his reaction to the promotion,” Mustang chuckled before he sighed and leaned against the wall. “Where is Fullmetal? I figured he wouldn’t have passed up the opportunity to see me in a jail cell,” Mustang said. He caught the look on Al’s face. “What happened?” He asked, sitting up and watching Al intently.

 

“He’s left for Resembool,” Al told him. “We got a phone call from the military police there. They said some strangers turned up and asked for Ed but got arrested because they didn’t have the appropriate paperwork.” Mustang frowned.

 

“Why didn’t he just order them brought to him here in Central?” He asked.

 

“Miss Gracia and Elysia are going to stay with Granny until we clear your name,” Al said. “Ed and I had to go and get them from work and school this morning when news of your arrest broke. The media knew about your friendship with Gracia and Elysia always brags about her Uncle Roy at school and people put two and two together,” Al said and Mustang’s eyes flashed with anger.

 

“Are they okay?” He asked and Al nodded.

 

“Yeah. Elysia was really upset. Practically all of her teachers tried to get information out of her and the children were horrible. One of the teacher’s aides got her out of there and waited with her until we got to the school. Gracia is really scary when she’s really angry,” Al told him and Mustang huffed a little before relaxing slightly. “Since Granny had agreed to take them in and they were taking the train this afternoon, Ed decided to go with them and meet the Resembool officers and deal with the situation there. He’ll be back on tomorrow mornings train,” Al told him.

 

“Makes sense,” Mustang said before looking at them again. “So, why are you two here?” Mustang asked and Al handed him the photos he had. Mustang grabbed them and looked through them before raising a brow.

 

“I need you to tell me what I should be looking for to prove fire alchemy wasn’t used there,” Al said. “Brother asked me to go over the photos to see if I can spot signs of your alchemy or any alchemy in general but I don’t know your alchemy well enough to tell the difference your fire and a normal fire,” Al explained. “Miss Riza suggested I talk to you since you’re the only person who can tell and you could explain it to me,” Al told him. Mustang nodded and studied the pictures while Al and Breda waited patiently.

 

“Here, Al, look at this,” Mustang said, showing him the picture of the third victim, Colonel James Summers. Al looked at the photo then back at Mustang, not sure what he should be seeing. “The burn pattern is wrong. Parts of him are far more burnt than the other parts of him. It’s like something was poured on him. It’s the same with the others. When I have to use my alchemy to kill someone, I make it as quick of a death as I possibly can. My fire is as hot as possible and the burns are evenly spread.” Mustang tapped the photo. “Honestly, if I had killed them, there wouldn’t be this much of them left,” Mustang said. “Another thing you should keep an eye out for is the scorch marks. If I stood over them and used my alchemy, there would be minimal scorch marks on the side I was standing on, since I'm not going to set an explosion off in my own face. If I was standing in front of them, backing them against a wall, there would be a scorch mark on the wall with a void the shape of a human in it. If someone else set them on fire while they were on the ground, the scorch marks would be all around the body in random patterns, depending on whether they used an accelerant and how the liquid settled on the victim,” Mustang said before handing the photos back.

 

“So, there aren’t any actual markings like with mine or Ed’s alchemy?” Al asked and Mustang shook his head.

 

“No, nothing as easy as that. You need to know how fire behaves and how I use my alchemy to be able to see the difference,” Mustang told him. Al nodded.

 

“Okay. Are there any cases where you’ve had to use your alchemy to stop someone where the military would have photos of the victims and the scenes?” Al asked and Mustang nodded.

 

“Yes, there would be a few. Why?” He asked.

 

“I’m going to pull them and study the pictures so I can find the differences,” Al told him. Mustang and Breda both looked surprised.

 

“Good thinking, Al,” Breda said and Mustang nodded.

 

“That is, actually. Coordinate with my lawyer once you’ve gotten the results. He’ll be able to use it as evidence to help me,” Mustang said and Alphonse agreed, happy to help however he could. “Anything else?” Mustang asked and Al shook his head. Breda also shook his head and Al thought he saw a flash of disappointment in Mustang’s eyes but he couldn’t be sure,

 

“Do you need or want anything, Sir?” Al asked and Mustang sighed.

 

“Nothing you and the team aren’t already doing,” Mustang told him with a half-smile. “Tell your brother not to destroy my office,” Mustang said and Al shook his head.

 

“No, because that will put ideas in his head and he really will,” Al told him and both Breda and Mustang laughed at the truth of that statement. “We should get back though. Thank you for your help, Sir. I’ll look some of your old cases and see what I can find,” Al said and Mustang nodded.

 

“Anytime, Al. Good luck and step lightly. With Ed in Resembool, you lose his protection from the generals so be careful,” Mustang warned and both men nodded before leaving and heading back to the office to get back to work. Mustang just moved back to the bed and leaned against the wall as he listened to the sounds coming through his window from the outside world. 

* * *

 

While Alphonse had Hawkeye help him find files and photos he could use to compare to the current case to try and prove that flame alchemy wasn’t used to kill the victims and everyone else was on the assignments Hawkeye gave them, the train for Resembool was chugging along steadily for it’s final stop on this trip. Ed and Elysia had managed to fall asleep and Gracia envied them slightly for it. She settled for watching the stars flash past the train window.

 

The next thing she knew, she was being woken by the conductor’s voice announcing their imminent arrival to Resembool station. Ed was already waking up and Elysia grumbling at the voice. Gracia gave Ed a tired smile before they packed away the books and toys they and Elysia had used, leaving the young girl to sleep a bit longer. When the train pulled into the station, Gracia gestured for Ed to grab Elysia as she grabbed their suitcases and they deboarded with the handful of people who did so as well. To their surprise, there was a military police officer waiting near the emptying train, obviously looking for them because the moment he laid eyes on Ed, he seemed to both relax and tense up at the same time.

 

“Major Elric?” The Corporal asked when he approached.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel, actually. Effective this morning,” Ed told him, shaking the offered hand with his only free hand, his automail one holding the sleeping Elysia against himself.

 

“My apologies, Sir. Congratulations on your promotion,” the Corporal snapped a salute that Ed waved away immediately. “I’m Corporal Jon McBride. I called this morning about our detainees," he told him.

 

“Pleasure to meet you. I need to take these two to the Rockbells’ then I’ll be back to figure out who they are and what to do with them. I shouldn’t be longer than an hour, hour and a half at the most,” Ed told him.

 

“Yes, Sir. Anything I should do in the meantime?” McBride asked. Ed shrugged.

 

“If they want food or something to drink, give it to them. If not, I’m sure they’ll be able to handle a couple hours more in the holding cell,” Ed told him.

 

“Very well, Sir. I’ll see you shortly.” McBride snapped another salute and left when Ed dismissed him just as quickly as he’d done so the first time.

 

“Let’s go. Granny will want to be in bed soon,” Ed said to Gracia before leading the way through his home town, using old shortcuts he, Al and Winry had discovered as children.

 

Gracia asked a few questions as they went and Ed told her a few stories from his childhood. The Rockbells’ home soon came into view. Most of the windows upstairs were dark but every room on the lower floor had it’s lights on. Ed pointed out the hill his family had sat on once upon a time as they continued their trek up the Rockbells’ driveway. Gracia didn’t ask many questions about his home, knowing he and Al still didn’t like talking about it. Ed got to the front door and knocked, keeping an eye out for flying tools launched by an irate Winry. However, when the door opened, it was done so by Pinako, who looked completely unsurprised Ed was with them.

 

“It’s about time you got here. Come on in. There’s still some supper left for you,” Pinako told them, waving them inside, pipe still in hand.

 

“Thanks for doing this, Granny,” Ed said as he walked inside, Gracia following suit. “This is Gracia Hughes and her daughter, Elysia. Miss Gracia, this is Granny Pinako.” Ed introduced the two women before nudging Elysia awake. It took a few moments but she opened her eyes and looked around. It took a moment for it to register that they were somewhere new. “Elysia? This is Granny Pinako. She’s Winry’s grandmother. You and your mum are gonna stay here for a little bit while Al and I try and get your uncle out of trouble,” Ed reminded her. She asked to be let down and wandered over to where Pinako stood when Ed released her.

 

“I’m Elysia,” She said with a big smile on her face.

 

“Hello, Elysia. I’m Pinako but you can just call me Granny,” Pinako gave her a smile in return. “Do you want some dinner? Winry hasn’t eaten yet either," Pinako told Ed who sighed.

 

“Yeah, that sounds about right. Want me to get her?” He asked, dreading the confrontation with his childhood best friend.

 

“If you could please. I’ll get these two something to eat,” Pinako said and Ed grimaced as headed for the stairs. He could hear Gracia offering her own gratitude for Pinako’s hospitality as he headed for the workshop, having noted it’s lights had been on instead of the one in Winry’s bedroom. He knocked on the door.

 

“Winry?” He called and heard the machinery in the shop stop. “Granny says dinner’s ready,” he said, in case she hadn’t heard him over the tools. He heard her heading for the door and took a couple of hasty steps back in case she opened the door, wielding her favourite wrench.

 

“Edward Elric!” Winry shouted as she opened the door and a quick glance told Ed she wasn’t armed but that didn’t mean he was safe from her hitting his flesh arm. “The first time you call in months – months! – and you speak to me like that!” She raged at him as he tried to protect himself.

 

“I’m sorry! Ouch, you crazy witch! I said I’m sorry!” He yelled back and the blows stopped.

 

“So you should be," she sniffed. She snatched his automail arm and started pushing up his jacket sleeves, determined to look at it and growling when Ed snatched it back.

 

“My automail is fine,” Ed told her, hiding his arm behind her back. “I’m here because of Miss Gracia and Elysia,” Ed said, moving when she tried to snatch his arm back. She levelled a glare at him, like she was trying to read his mind and he rolled his eyes. “My automail is perfectly intact and working as excellently as Rockbell automail should be.” Ed saw the compliment soften her anger a little.

 

“Good," she said with a sharp nod before heading for the stairs. “Come on. Granny won’t wait forever," she told him before making her way down the stairs. Ed rolled his eyes and followed, rubbing his likely bruised arm.

 

When he got down the stairs, Elysia had already launched herself at Winry and the two were hugging each other as Winry made her way to the table to give Gracia a tight hug as well. The three sat back down when Ed sat at his spot and his mouth started watering when he realised they were going to eat some of Granny’s famous stew.

 

“Easiest thing to keep warm on the stove since we weren’t sure what time you’d be arriving," Pinako said as Ed dug straight into the food, offering the quickest thanks he’d ever given.

 

There was plenty of small talk and happy chatter over the table as they ate. Elysia told everyone about her adventures and lessons at school while Gracia caught them up on the latest gossip she’d heard around town. Ed gave them a brief overview of most of his missions and told them about the events that happened in the office today, including his promotion and him taking control of Mustang’s team. Winry and Granny expressed their concerns at him taking on the Generals like that but he assured them he would be okay. Winry didn’t look so certain but she did change the subject to her automail and apprenticeship at Garfiel’s in Rush Valley. Granny told Ed about changes in the area; deaths, births, lands changing ownership, etc. She ended by telling about an interesting rumour in town about six strangers ending up in the Resembool holding cells and asking after the Fullmetal Alchemist.

 

“Yeah, I know. Part of the reason I came back. I’ve gotta leave in a few minutes to meet up with Corporal McBride and sort it out,” Ed said when the two Rockbell women looked at him. They’d all finished dinner and were just sitting at the table, talking about things.

 

“I see. Well, I guess we can only hope they don’t mean Amestris any harm,” Pinako said as she waved at Gracia to sit back down. “No, dear. Winry and Edward can take care of the dishes. Why don’t I show you and your daughter where you can put your things?” She offered, already standing and moving to the stairs.

 

“That would be nice. Thank you,” Gracia said as she grabbed Elysia’s hand so she would follow. Ed and Winry started clearing the table.

 

By the time they’d finished scrubbing the plates and bickering amongst themselves about random things, the three others had come back down the stairs and were sitting in the longue room. Winry and Ed joined them as soon as they finished cleaning up after dinner.

 

“Thanks for dinner, Granny, and for letting Miss Gracia and Elysia stay here but I should head back into town and figure out what’s going on,” Ed told them. Elysia and Winry both pouted at him.

 

“You’re leaving?” Elysia asked sadly.

 

“Yes. I have to go and see who these strangers are and why they want to meet me then I have to go back to Central to try and get your uncle out of trouble,” Ed told her. She looked torn about wanting him to stay or go.

 

“But you’ll be back soon, right?” She asked and Ed nodded.

 

“As soon as your uncle isn’t in trouble anymore and we catch the bad guy, I’ll come back,” Ed promised her and she seemed satisfied with his promise.

 

"I'll draw you and Uncle Roy and big brother Alphonse lots and lots of pictures," Elysia told him and Ed gave her a big smile before ruffling her hair.

 

“Are you sure you have to leave so soon? You just got here.” Winry told him, upset she couldn’t spend more time with her best friend.

 

“Yeah, I told McBride I wouldn’t be longer than an hour and a half and it takes nearly 25 minutes to get back to town,” Ed reminded her. She sighed when she realised Ed had already been here for half an hour.

 

“Fine. But I expect Al to come back with you and a phone call to tell me when you’ll be here so I can be back from Rush Valley,” Winry told him, eyes narrowing threateningly.

 

“Sure,” Ed agreed easily. He’d just have to tell Al about calling Winry so his brother could remind him to do that.

 

“Bye, big brother Ed,” Elysia said sadly as she got up to hug him.

 

“See you soon, El. You be good for your mum and Granny, okay?” Ed said and she nodded. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay? I can't wait to see all of your artwork,” he said as he let go of the five-year-old and she nodded.

 

“Okay,” Elysia gave him a big smile and Ed grinned, leaning down to give Elysia another hug. Once Ed straightened, he was immediately enveloped in a hug from Gracia.

 

“Thank you for helping us,” Gracia said as she relinquished her hold on him.

 

“Any time, Miss Gracia. I’ll try and keep you updated when I can,” Ed promised her and she thanked him. “Bye, Granny. Bye, Winry.” He was glomped by the younger of the Rockbell women and almost swore when he nearly fell over.

 

“You had better remember your promise. If I find out you’ve been back and I didn’t get told...” She let him fill in the threat as she let go of him.

 

“I will. Chill, Winry,” he promised, trying to soothe her before she could actually voice her threat.

 

“Stay safe, Edward. I have a feeling this case will be more complicated than you think,” Pinako warned him.

 

“I will, Granny," he promised as he headed for the door. “I’ll call you when I’m back in Central and let you know what happened with the strangers," he promised and she nodded. “See you later,” he said, waving, and received more goodbyes as he headed back down the road to town.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 –**

The first thing he did when he left Granny’s was contact the Lions once more and tell them he would be muting their connection now. None of the Lions sounded happy about it and if he were being honest, Ed didn’t like the idea either but he knew it needed to be done, especially since he now knew about what the Lions would be doing in the coming days. The muting of the bonds was drawn out by the fact that the Paladins insisted on passing on messages to Ed through the Lions before they couldn’t for the foreseeable future.

 

Most of them wished him luck in helping Mustang, offering supportive and encouraging comments about how they knew he would be able to solve the mystery. Pidge had Green tell him that he better not be killed in the process or she’d figure out inter-dimensional travel and would kill him herself. Lance had echoed the comment while Shiro had apparently tried to reprimand them but Black told Ed that Shiro felt the same way, which Ed had laughed at before giving them his own well-wishes for their missions and told them he wouldn’t be happy if he heard any of them got badly hurt, reminding them he wouldn’t need to figure out inter-dimensional travel before getting his hands on them. There were a few moments of silence before Ed eventually forced himself to get it over with and after one more ‘good luck’ comment from everyone, he muted the bond.

 

The effect was immediate and jarring. Ed hadn’t realised how intertwined the Lions were in his mind until he’d dulled their connection enough that they’d have to yell or go off-line somehow for him to notice them. His mind was so quiet without them there and he shuddered at the almost-vulnerable loneliness he felt without them there. He allowed himself a minute to adjust to the overwhelming loss he felt – even though he was aware that they weren’t actually gone for good – before he continued on.

 

The rest of the walk back to Resembool was spent thinking about who the heck was waiting for him in the holding cells. He didn’t really think it was the Xingese because he was certain McBride would’ve recognised them as Xingese and passed on the description. Same for anyone he might’ve met on any of his missions who could’ve been Drachman or Cretan or any other nationality. The Ishvalens wouldn’t have been detained at all.

 

Ed continued down the road in silence before blinking and realising he was suddenly in town. The walk from Granny’s to here seemed to have flashed by. Ed shook his head and sighed before heading towards the military police station at a sedate pace. He wasn’t in a terrible rush since he knew he wasn’t going to be late. He rounded the last corner and caught sight of McBride opening the door to check for him. He spotted Ed approaching and immediately stood at attention.

 

“Don’t bother with that shit. I don’t care,” Ed told him, flapping a hand at him to make him relax. McBride did so, minutely.

 

“Thank you, Sir.” He caught sight of Ed’s glare and his eyes widened minutely as he wondered what he'd done wrong.

 

“Ed or Edward. Fullmetal is fine as well,” Ed told him and he nodded. The two of them stepped through the two into the station.

 

Since Resembool was such a small town, the military police station wasn’t big or impressive. There were six holding cells with each cell being big enough to fit four people, with person to a bed. There was the main front entrance, which was where Ed and McBride were standing and a receptionist would normally be during the day, plus a waiting area. Past that were the staff room, the two interview rooms, an office, a bathroom and a secure storage area for files and evidence.

 

“Tell me what happened?” Ed asked. McBride sighed a little before remembering himself.

 

“About an hour before I called you, these six walked into town and found me. They told me they needed to get into contact with you, Sir- I mean, Fullmetal.” He corrected himself before Ed could say anything. “I asked them where they were from but they refused to tell me. They were surprisingly nice about it, telling me they wouldn’t talk to anyone other than you. I asked them to produce papers that permitted them entrance into Amestris but they couldn’t so I placed them in two holding cells. That’s when I tried calling you. I’m not sure if you were on the phone at the time or it was off the hook at the time but I couldn’t. I tried again a few minutes later and got through though,” he reported.

 

“They didn’t tell you anything about who they were or where they were from?” McBride shook his head. “They’re definitely not Xingese or any of our other neighbours?” He asked, not actually sure which answer he wanted to hear more.

 

“No. They definitely aren’t,” McBride confirmed. Ed sighed and scrubbed his hand across his face.

 

“Alright. Let’s go and see who they are and how the fuck they know who I am if they aren’t our neighbours or Amestrian,” Ed said, gesturing for McBride to take the lead.

 

The man did as he was gestured and took the lead. Ed followed and they headed passed the interview rooms and headed straight for the back of the building. Ed expected the strangers to be in the first couple of cells and questioned McBride.

 

“I put them in the back cells in case I had to use the others for delinquents and whatnot. I wasn’t sure if they were people you’d want Amestris to know about,” McBride told him nervously, like he suddenly wasn’t sure he made the right call.

 

“Good thinking, McBride,” Ed praised, making the man relax once more.

 

They continued walking to the last two cells and when Ed was in front of them, his jaw almost hit the floor at who was looking back at him. Sitting there in one cell was Agents Jennifer Jareau and Emily Prentiss. The neighbouring cell held Agents David Rossi, Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan and Dr Spencer Reid.

 

“So, is this how you guys greet newcomers? Tossing them in cells?” Morgan asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.

 

 

“No fucking way,” Ed said almost immediately after Morgan spoke. McBride looked like he wasn’t sure if his reaction was positive or negative. The gathered members of the BAU all grinned at his reaction though and Ed’s lips soon stretched in a massive smile. “This is perfect! This is – holy shit! We’ve actually got a chance of solving this shitstorm before something horrible happens. Yes!” Ed stopped suddenly and stared at them with narrowed eyes. He clapped his hands, the familiar ringing echoing off the holding cells and spread his hands towards the six of them, letting his tracking array flow from his fingers. His glowing, blue eyes startled McBride into stepping back. Ed cut the transmutation after only a few seconds and his eyes dimmed back to their usual golden colour.

 

“Sir?” McBride asked hesitantly, wincing as he remembered Ed’s request from earlier only after he spoke.

 

“Let them out, please, Corporal. I need to borrow your office, as well,” Ed ordered. McBride barely hesitated, grabbing his keys from his belt and unlocking the cell containing the women first before the others.

 

“If you’ll follow me,” McBride said and Ed gestured for everyone to follow. He was practically vibrating with excitement as his mind was trying to work through how almost the entire BAU unit managed to get here from America in a separate dimension, the help they’d be able to offer if he could con the military into letting them and the simple fact that they were actually here. McBride lead them to the interview room and the BAU filed in. Ed followed before turning to McBride and stopping his entrance.

 

“Would you mind calling the hotel in town and booking four rooms? I know they stop taking bookings for the night soon and I’m not sure I’ll be done in here before then,” Ed told him, looking very apologetic for even asking.

 

“Of course, Sir. I’ll leave you to it,” McBride said and Ed sent him a warning look about the title but thanked him before shutting the door.

 

“How the fu-?” Ed was about to ask when he was attacked with a hug from damn near half the team.

 

“Ed, it’s so good to see you!” JJ damn-near gushed before she let go of him. “How are you? How’s Mustang? Is everyone else okay?” She asked each question in rapid succession.

 

“Easy, Miss JJ! I’m okay,” he said as he was let go by the female agents and grabbed by Reid for a hug. He let go quickly and smiled at Ed before Morgan grabbed him with an arm half around his shoulders and half around his neck while Hotch and Rossi chose to simply shake his hand once he was released.

 

“It’s good seeing you again, Edward. Now,” Hotch asked with a brow raised, “can you explain why we were sitting in our debriefing room with Garcia one moment, in a white world with a humanoid shape talking to us before we turned up in the middle of the road without Garcia in sight.” Ed felt his blood run cold at the mention of Truth.

 

“What _exactly_ did it say to you? The humanoid in the white world?” He asked insistently.

 

“It welcomed us to its dimension. It told Garcia that her skillset wasn’t needed where we were going and suggested she use it the moment she got back. After that, it told us that it needed us to help right a wrong that would have immense consequences if allowed to happen. It said it would be sending us to see an old friend and told us to tell them the return trip would be the prize for a job well done,” Hotch said, the others nodding in agreement. “After that, we were dragged through a massive set of gates and woke up in the middle of a road.” Hotch finished saying.

 

“It definitely said the return trip would be the prize so long as you lot manage to do whatever job it sent you here to do? It said those words exactly?” Ed pressed, needing to know for absolute certain.

 

“Yes. That's definitely what it told us,” Hotch swore.

 

“That’s what it said, Ed. Why?” Prentiss asked.

 

“You met Truth,” Ed told them. “It’s a tricky, conniving arsewipe that takes sick pleasure in fucking with people but if it swore that you would get a free trip home if you did what it wanted, that’s good. Now, what did it ask you to do? Did it give you a specific mission?” Ed asked as the agents recovered from their surprise at having met Truth remarkably well.

 

“It only told us that something was happening that would alter the course of Amestris and not in a good way. It said it liked the course Amestris had been on. It said it was a course it liked because it wouldn’t have to do much work to make sure something didn’t happen to wipe out the entire planet. The course it’s heading down now would create too much work for it in the future and wanted us to deal with it,” Morgan told him. Ed frowned as he listened before sighing.

 

“Fucking useless, vague, staticky, sadistic prick,” Ed swore. “That could be anything! I mean, I’m fairly certain I know what it’s talking about but you just never know with that douchenozzle!” Ed snarled.

 

“What do you mean by you think you know? What’s going on, Ed?” Hotch asked, bringing the blonde out of his rage.

 

“Mustang’s been framed and arrested for five counts of murder and one count attempted murder. Most of the Generals are out for blood and are trying to push for him to be tried as soon as possible so they can get one of their biggest threats to their positions out of the way. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes isn’t one of those out for Mustang to fry but he did his job well and everything pointed to Mustang so he had to arrest him. Didn’t help his case when Mustang couldn’t provide an alibi for any of the six nights in questions and now he’s in jail and me and the damned team are trying our best to get him out of prison but from what I saw of the case files so far, it’s a solid fucking case and Mustang’s fucked if we don’t find something they can’t claim we fabricated,” Ed said in one massive breath.

 

“Wait, what?” Morgan asked just before a knock at the door sounded.

 

“Yeah?” Ed called and McBride stepped in the room.

 

“Sorry to interrupt, Fullmetal, Sir, but I just wanted to let you know your rooms are booked and the hotel has asked me to remind you they won’t be accepting late check ins in half an hours’ time,” McBride said and Ed nodded.

 

“Thank, Corporal. We’ll be out of your hair soon. Can you give us a few more minutes alone?” Ed asked and McBride nodded.

 

“Of course, Fullmetal, Sir,” He said, shutting the door and walking away.

 

“Look, the train won’t be leaving here until 6 tomorrow morning and we’ll have at least five hours to talk about this situation in it’s entirety but the short of it is that I could really use your help making sure Mustang doesn’t end up on the wrong side of a firing squad,” Ed said tiredly.

 

“Of course we’ll help.” Hotch told him. “I think it is your turn to ask us for help, anyway,” Hotch said and Ed laughed.

 

“Yeah, probably,” Ed laughed. “Come on. We should head to the hotel before they won’t let us check in and we’ve probably kept McBride from his work long enough,” Ed said, opening the interview room door up and ushering everyone out.

 

They came across McBride waiting in the front entrance. He straightened as soon as he saw Ed and they all saw the obvious reflex to salute he made before remembering what Edward had said earlier about that sort of thing. He was watching all of the BAU with careful eyes before letting his gaze fall on Edward again.

 

“Are you taking custody of them, Fullmetal, Sir?” McBride asked and Ed figured he wasn’t going to win the fight to stop him from calling him ‘sir’ without resorting to pulling rank and he didn’t want to do that.

 

“Yes. You did good, keeping them here and calling me. Thank you, Corporal,” Ed praised easily. He was glad the Corporal hadn’t just stuck them on the train with instructions to head to Central and ask there.

 

“Thank you, Sir,” McBride saluted after handing the BAU their weapons he had confiscated from them when they first arrived. “You have a good night, Sir,” McBride said as he unlocked the door to let them out.

 

“You too, McBride,” Ed said with a wave as he led the group towards the hotel.

 

“Do we have to call you ‘Sir’ as well?” Morgan asked teasingly.

 

“Oh, shut up,” Ed told him, making nearly everyone laugh at Ed’s scowl.

* * *

 

They reached the hotel only a couple of minutes later since it was close by to the train and military police stations. Ed spoke to the tired teen manning the front desk and left instructions for whoever was working the morning shift to call his room at 5am to make sure they were awake. The boy nodded and scrawled a note before handing over the four keys and Ed showed him his pocket watch and telling him to send the bill to the military before leading everyone up the stairs.

 

“These are our rooms. They’re nothing flash but they’re just for the night. Pair off and try to get some sleep,” Ed said, handing over keys to Hotch, Morgan and JJ. “I’ll be in this room. We’ll get breakfast at the café near the train station. If you aren’t up by 5, I’ll get you up,” Ed told them.

 

“We’ll see you in the morning, Ed,” JJ said, squeezing his upper left arm before she and Prentiss disappeared into their room.

 

“Night, Ed,” Reid said as Morgan offered a similar sentiment before they closed their door. Hotch and Rossi were the only ones left and they were given Ed a look he knew all too well.

 

“I’ll tell you everything on the train. It probably isn’t something we should discuss here anyway,” Ed promised them and they nodded.

 

“Okay. Despite what the situation is, it is good to see you again, Ed,” Hotch said and Ed gave him and Rossi a smile.

 

“Same here. Good night, guys.” They repeated his goodnight back and went into their room, leaving Ed along in the hallway as he unlocked his door and slipped into his own room. He didn’t bother doing much more than slipping his boots and socks off, placing his pocket watch on the bedside table and collapsing on the bed. He was asleep before he knew it. 

* * *

 

The phone in his room rang, startling him out of his sleep. A glance at the clock in the room told him it was his wake-up call and he groaned as he stretched before getting out of bed and grabbing the phone.

 

“Yeah?” He asked, voice still thick with sleep.

 

“Major Elric? This is the front desk. You asked us to give you a call at 5am this morning.” The lady sounded far more perky than she should’ve for this hour. It took him a moment to realise she’d used the wrong rank but then he remembered he didn’t care.

 

“Okay. Thank you, Miss,” Ed said, stifling a yawn. “My friends and I will be down in a few minutes to check out,” he told her.

 

“We’ll see you shortly than, Major Elric,” She said. Ed hummed an agreement before hanging up and using his rooms facilities.

 

Once finished up, Ed took out what remained of his braid, finger-combed it and put it back in its braid. He straightened his clothing and put on his socks and shoes before grabbing his pocket watch and heading out the door. He bashed on each door the agents were behind, waited until he heard shuffling coming from inside or shouts for him to go away before moving to the next door and repeating the process. After a few minutes, everyone was out of their rooms and gathered in front of him.

 

“We just need to check out then we can go for coffee,” Ed told them, understanding their need for caffeine to help them function. “Just remember not to answer questions if you can help it,” Ed warned them before heading down the stairs.

 

“Good morning, Major Elric. I trust your stay was enjoyable?” The concierge at the front desk asked as he handed the four keys over.

 

“Yeah, thanks,” he said, ignoring the use of his title. It was too early in the morning to deal with kind of shit. “Have a good day, Miss,” he said before hustling the others out the door as she repeated the sentiment. 

* * *

 

There wasn’t much chatter and Ed was grateful for it. He shouldn’t be spoken to before coffee because the filter from his brain to mouth – such as it was – was completely non-existent before coffee. Thankfully, the small café took advantage of the early train to open its doors that early for travelers to get the coffee and food they needed.

 

The waitress looked as thrilled as them to be awake this early as she handed over the menus and took down seven orders of coffee. Ed didn’t think he recognised her so he figured she must’ve been someone travelling through, working for more travelling money or she was someone who thought Resembool was a good place to move too. She was surprised when he asked if she’d had one this morning already and shook her head so Ed bought her one as well since she was only up because of people like him. She thanked him and set about making the coffees while the cooks worked on their breakfast orders.

 

“That was nice of you, Ed,” JJ said. Ed shrugged the compliment away, a little uncomfortable with the praise. The six of them noticed so Reid changed the subject.

 

“So what’s the plan?” Reid asked and Ed sighed.

 

“There should be a car waiting for us when we get to Central. After that, we’re going straight to the Fuhrer’s office and getting you legally allowed to help so those dick Generals don’t bitch about ‘non-military civilians’ working on military cases,” Ed told them. The waitress walked over with some of their coffees. Thirty seconds later, she was back with the rest and an assurance that their breakfasts wouldn’t be too long. Ed thanked her before turning back to the others. “Grumman knows everything about the two times we met. He’s chill about it,” Ed assured them.

 

“You told him?” Hotch asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“Yeah, kinda had to considering the first time Mustang and I disappeared, it damn near caused a national crisis. Two of the strongest alchemists in Amestris and the two strongest State Alchemists disappearing into thin air like that and so soon after Promised Day? Grumman was the only one who was able to convince everyone we were on a secret mission of the highest priority from him. Of course, Mustang’s team and Al didn’t believe a word he said but they went along with it until we turned back up and they found out the truth. We kinda owed Grumman for not letting a national panic happen so we told him what happened,” Ed explained.

 

“And he believed you?” Morgan asked, a little surprised.

 

“I don’t actually know if he fully believed us the first time but he definitely did the second time, especially when I showed him all the stuff you guys sent me back with. Plus, there was the fact that Moore just would _not_ shut up about what happened.” Ed groaned at the memory. “Grumman managed to find people who would testify that the death of his brother drove him insane and that his claims were the result of that insanity. The fact that he kept trying to attack Mustang and me when we took the stand didn’t help his case,” Ed told them and a few of them snorted.

 

“So, Moore’s in jail?” Prentiss asked. Ed nodded.

 

“Yup. For a long time. The judge ruled that he wouldn’t be paroled until he was free from his delusions. Moore apparently yelled at him that they weren’t delusions and he was telling the truth. The judge somehow didn’t believe him. It was a real mystery as to why,” Ed said sarcastically as their food turned up. They waited until everyone had their breakfast in front of them, thanked the waitress and dug in, forgoing talking for eating. 

* * *

 

Once they were done eating, Ed checked the nearest clock and saw they had twenty minutes to get to the station so he decided they should leave now. He settled the bill and joined back up with everyone so he could lead them to the station. When they got to the ticket booth, Ed found he already had a ticket booked for his return trip and silently thanked Hawkeye for it. He bought six more tickets and booked a private compartment at the same time. Flashing his pocket watch, the bill was sent to the military and they were given their tickets and free to board the train with five minutes to spare.

 

Everyone got themselves comfortable in the compartment. Morgan, Rossi, Hotch and Prentiss sat on one bench while Ed, JJ and Reid sat on the other. Any time an agent went to ask Ed to start explaining, he glared at them warningly and they heeded the warning. The conductor announced their departure and the train started pulling away, its whistle piercing the early morning air as it struggled to pick up speed. Ed waited until the train was going at its fastest before speaking.

 

“Here’s the deal,” Ed said and all the agents leant forward to hear him. “About a month and a half ago, a Captain Chase Bryce was found murdered in an alleyway, burned to death. Mustang knew Bryce from his academy days and the two did not get along in the slightest. 16 days after his death, a Major Colin Pardi was found dead in an alleyway, burned to death. Pardi had been extremely vocal about how those who participated in the Ishvalen Civil War – especially Mustang – should be charged with war crimes."

 

"War crimes? That's a serious charge," Prentiss said, brow furrowing as she spoke only to be replaced with a semi-shocked expression when Ed waved her worries off.

 

"Long story," Ed told her before continuing what he had been saying. "12 days later, a Colonel James Summers was found dead in an alleyway, burned to death. Summers had made his dislike for Mustang known and was always telling people he thought Mustang was too young and inexperienced to be a Brigadier-General. 9 days later, Brigadier-General Aleyce Henley. Dead in an alleyway, burned to death. Mustang and I had been calling for her to be arrested for hiding the plans for Promised Day and allowing it to go ahead, resulting in hundreds of deaths that we could have possibly prevented if we’d been given more details about what would happen. She had those details. 4 days after her, Major-General Bernard Andrews,” Ed’s voice cracked a little here and they saw the brief flash of pain before he continued, “was found dead. Alleyway, burned to death. He was Mustang’s direct superior and one of the rare few higher ups who was a genuinely good person. It was a well-known fact that if he were to retire or die, Mustang would be the first choice to replace him.” Ed paused before continuing.

 

“Mustang was formally questioned the day Andrews was found. After he was allowed to leave, a Lieutenant-General Olivier Armstrong was attacked with the intent to kill but the attacker was scared off by the sounds of someone nearby. It isn’t a secret in the military that Armstrong and Mustang do not get along. They don’t badmouth each other or whatever like some in the military do but they’re honest in their dislike if you ask them. Armstrong is also the kind of person whose reputation is more than enough to make people think twice about attacking her in any way. Only someone incredibly stupid or incredibly determined would dare try,” Ed told them. “Mustang was arrested a couple of hours after they found Mustang. The woman who found her told investigators that Armstrong had said her attacker wore a military uniform, white gloves and created sparks with their hands. That’s all the Generals needed to hear to go to Grumman for an arrest warrant to detain Mustang on the suspicion of committing the crimes.” Ed finally took the chance to breathe.

 

“So Mustang is being framed?” Morgan asked and Ed nodded. “Any idea who?” Ed shook his head.

 

“No. Whoever it is has covered their tracks phenomenally well. The Lieutenant-Colonel in charge of the case doesn’t think that Mustang did it but his investigation only brought up one suspect for all five murders and the attack. It didn’t even bring up any other suspects who might have had an alibi for one or all of the murders. Literally the only person who could have been arrested for this was Mustang. The only reason Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes doesn’t think it was him is because of his gut instinct. Everything and damn near everyone else are saying it was Mustang,” Ed told them and Hotch sighed.

 

“Sounds like we’ve got our work cut out for us,” he said simply. “What else should we know about before we arrive?” He asked.

 

“We’ve got Brookes and Grumman on our side. The Generals are all for Mustang facing a firing squad but the two who are frothing at the mouth more than the others are Widdon and Combes. They tried to stop us yesterday from investigating but Miss Riza and Mustang had come up with a contingency plan when it started looking bad for Mustang and the Generals couldn’t do shit,” Ed told them.

 

“What was the plan?” Reid asked.

 

“Me," Ed said matter-of-factly, "I was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel so I’m on the same level as Brookes and I was put in charge of Mustang’s team so the Generals couldn’t force them to split and join other teams. Also, Alphonse is my personal aide now so the Generals couldn’t kick out the civilian on the grounds he wasn’t hired by the military and therefore wasn’t allowed access to their files,” Ed told them before smirking. “The really fun part was pointing out to the Generals when they tried pulling rank and making me kneel to them was that my personal contract states clearly that I answer only to my commanding officer – Mustang – and the Fuhrer. Because the team is under my control, it means my orders trump any the Generals can try and give them so the Generals can’t order them to stay away from the case because I can order them to stay on it and since Grumman is now the only one I answer to, at least until Mustang’s out of jail, the Generals can’t order me not to investigate which means the team won’t have to fear us being told to stop unless Grumman orders us to but that won’t happen,” Ed said with a grin.

 

“Congrats on your promotion.” Morgan grinned when Ed made a face at him. They all remembered how much he didn’t care about his rank, having refused all offers to be promoted on the basis he couldn’t give two shits.

 

“Are there any more details you can give us while we’re on the train?” Ed nodded in response to Rossi’s questions and began going through each case, starting with Bryce’s murder. The team listened intently, only interrupting to ask a question, which Ed promptly answered before returning to the case. 

* * *

 

Lieutenant-General Olivier Armstrong woke up groggy and confused. She was barely aware of her surroundings when she heard her family gasping and calling her name. She felt the usual surge of annoyance she felt whenever she was subjected to the side of her family that didn’t care who saw their emotions before the awareness hit her like a tank. Her blue eyes flicked past her family’s concerned faces and the doctors and nurses who were watching her scrutinisingly for signs of whatever they were afraid to see and she took in the white walls, hospital machinery and the night sky she could see through her window. She went to sit up a little when her mother pressed her gently back down.

 

“Let the doctors do their checks before you strain yourself anymore, darling,” she suggested and loathe as she was to admit it, Armstrong listened because she realised she was too weak to try and sit up just yet.

 

At a word from the doctors, her family stepped back and let them flock around her. She felt them prodding her side and there was the familiar flare of pain that could only be caused by a broken rib. She didn’t let her pain show, refusing to let another sign of weakness through her walls. The doctors seemed to be focused on her head more than anything else and when Olivier mentally sorted through her various aches and pains, she realised her head was absolutely _throbbing_. She was no stranger to head wounds but this one was particularly bad.

 

While the doctors were fussing, Armstrong cast her mind back to try and figure what exactly happened to her. The last thing she remembered was a worried face framed with long, dark, curly hair before she remembered nothing at all so she cast her mind back even further. She knew she had been heading to Central Command for a late meeting with the Fuhrer after an irritating dinner out with her family. She frowned as she tried to remember why she didn’t make it before her mind helpfully recalled the memory of hearing something coming from an alley. She’d gone to investigate and heard a voice calling for help but there had been something off about it and she’d stopped. Then she was ambushed from behind and she’d been struck in the head, despite her dodging the first attempt and fighting back. She remembered trying to get to her feet so she could fight back but she’d been knocked back down after every attempt.

 

Then she let herself recall the details about her attacker, knowing she would be required to give a statement to whoever was investigating her assault once they learned she was awake. She remembered a military uniform and black shoes. Her attacker was of average height and build but the uniform made it difficult to guess whether they had been female or male since female soldiers like herself had the option to wear pants or skirts. Most female soldiers who fought in the field chose pants for convenience whereas the skirt option was normally worn by civilian women employed as secretaries and whatnot. But her attacker wore white gloves and that was unusual since most soldiers forwent the gloves except in winter. Then there was the fact there were sparks coming from the gloves and that scratching noise, like a match being struck.

 

This led her to only one possible conclusion she could draw. Mustang had tried to kill her. She had heard the rumours about his being questioned in connection with several homicides and her brother had been speaking about it at dinner that night. However, a part of her mind baulked at the idea of Mustang trying to kill her. Sure, he didn’t like her as much as she didn’t like him. There was extremely begrudging respect between the two of them since Promised Day but neither would go to bat for the other in the slightest. Still, her instinct was telling her there was no way Mustang would’ve tried to kill her. It would’ve been political suicide for him and that wasn’t even considering the fact that he would face a firing squad for it.

 

“Lieutenant-General?” A doctor’s voice broke her out of her thoughts and she scowled as she realised she had spaced out.

 

“What?” She asked – a glance at his name tag – Dr Evans. He didn’t look phased by her snappish tone.

 

“I asked how you were feeling,” he repeated.

 

“I’m fine. What are my injuries?” She asked, ignoring the worried noises coming from her soft-hearted mother and brother.

 

“You suffered a severely sprained wrist, a broken rib on your right side and an open skull fracture. We were forced to put you in a medically induced coma for 36 hours to give your body time to mend itself and so we could keep an eye on your head wound. Thankfully, you never showed signs of a hemorrhage in the brain nor were there any concerning brain swelling and you never developed an infection in the wound. We were comfortable with the idea of bringing you out of the coma today,” Evans explained. “Is there anything you don’t remember? Any missing memories?” Evans asked but Armstrong shook her head.

 

“I remember everything. Including the attack,” Armstrong told him and heard her mother gasp slightly. Evans nodded.

 

“Good. That means the blow didn’t cause memory loss, short-term or otherwise.” He checked over a few things on the machines. “Presuming you stay this stable until your stitches are due to come out in a few days, you will be permitted to leave,” Dr Evans told her and she sighed in annoyance. He pretended not to hear her sigh. “If you’re feeling up to it tomorrow, I’ll inform the military about you being awake so they can send someone to question you. They have been most anxious to talk to you.” Now Dr Evans was the one who sounded annoyed. Normally she wasn’t one for gossip but this involved her and she needed to know.

 

“What happened?” She asked, eyes narrowing at the Doctor, as though daring him not to answer her.

 

“You had just been put in the coma when two Generals arrived with a Lieutenant-Colonel in tow. I had told your family your prognosis and our treatment plan and was about to permit them entrance into your room when the Generals turned up and demanded we bring you out of the coma so they could question you immediately instead of waiting the 36 hours we were going to wait,” Dr Evans told her. She raised a brow in a silent question. “I told them it wouldn’t happen under any circumstance and your mother had a few words with them. They left very quickly after that,” Evans said with a self-satisfied smirk.

 

“Which Generals?” She asked, voice terse.

 

“Combes and Widdon,” Her father answered for Dr Evans. Armstrong nodded.

 

“That makes sense. They are the ones who are most determined to have Mustang out of their way,” she told them, feeling a calm rage settle under her skin.

 

While she didn’t personally care about the lack of empathy they showed towards her own person, she felt anger at the fact that they were so determined to get rid of Mustang that they disrespected a doctor and her family and ordered them to reverse her coma just so they could get her to say Mustang attacked her, putting her life and health at risk just because they couldn’t wait 36 hours. If they showed that kind of attitude towards her family – a family almost as old as the military and involved in it just as long – because they couldn’t control themselves when the chance to get someone they saw as a threat presented itself than what would they have done had she just been a civilian and her family was another other ordinary family? She may not like people but sure as hell wouldn’t have acted that callous towards someone because the chance to rid herself of her personal enemy was within grasp. The lack of self-control was what disgusted her the most. She barely heard the doctor saying he would check in on her later and leaving her to the tender mercies of her family as she seethed with annoyance at the Generals.

* * *

Major Alex Louise Armstrong was silent as he drove back to his family’s home before he headed back to his office later that day. They had left even though visiting hours weren’t over but Olivier had called him back in for a moment, much to his surprise. She had looked at him with her usual cold demeanour before asking him what had happened in the military while she had been unconscious.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang was arrested the night you were attacked, Olivier, on suspicion of five counts murder and one count attempted murder.” Armstrong told her. She had raised a brow at that. “Fuhrer Grumman ruled that he wouldn’t be formally charged with the murders until you had made your statement, assuming you identified the Brigadier-General as your attacker.”

 

“Mustang’s team? I doubt they’ll be standing aside while their boss is in prison,” Olivier said and Armstrong nodded.

 

“You would be right, dear Sister. Young Edward has been promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and has assumed control of the team. They’ve been investigating the cases as best they can. Young Edward has reportedly had to go to Resembool for an unknown reason but he’s due back on the morning’s train,” Armstrong dutifully relayed before shifting minutely. “Sister, I do not wish to sound as though I am hoping Brigadier-General Mustang is released if he is indeed behind these gruesome crimes and your own attack but I find myself unsure. I do not believe Brigadier-General Mustang to be capable of such crimes – despite seeing his alchemy first-hand in Ishval – but I do not believe he would rid himself of enemies in this way. Not if he could have washed his hands of them in more legal ways.” Armstrong raised his eyes to meet his sister’s. “Olivier, I implore you. Please, did Brigadier-General Mustang attack you in that alleyway?” He asked unflinchingly. Olivier wanted to sneer at her brother for his begging but she admired his bravery for asking her so directly.

 

“I didn’t see my attacker’s face clearly,” she told him honestly and with her usual brashness. His face fell slightly and she blamed the painkillers for the minute weakness she showed next. “But I do not believe it was Brigadier-General Mustang who attacked me.” 

* * *

Doctor Evans was true to his word and after consulting with Olivier when he checked on her later that day, he called the Fuhrer to let him know she was awake and agreeable to visitors. Fuhrer Grumman’s secretary had been the one to answer and thanked him for the update and promising to pass the message along. He didn’t have to wait long for the two Generals who had shown up when Olivier had been admitted. A glance again had him noticing the same Lieutenant-Colonel following behind them, looking even more haggard than he had when he last saw the man.

 

“Doctor Evans,” one of the Generals greeted before they both handed him a letter each. “We wish to apologise once more for our deplorable behaviour the last time we were here,” he told him stiffly.

 

“Yes, it was most unbecoming of us and we apologise if our actions or words caused you distress or anger,” the other one muttered. Evans could tell these apologies weren’t genuine but the result of them having been scolded, by the Fuhrer if Evans hazarded a guess.

 

“I accept your apologies,” he told them before walking to Olivier Armstrong’s room. “Wait here until I call you in,” he ordered before pushing the door open and shutting it firmly behind himself, ignoring the two annoyed looks from the Generals the action garnered.

 

In the end they only had to wait a minute before the door opened back up and the doctor stood to the side to let them walk through. They barely looked his way as they strode in, with the exception of Brookes who had thanked the doctor quietly as he passed him. The doctor nodded at him sharply before speaking. “You have ten minutes before you must leave. Lieutenant-General Armstrong isn’t completely out of the woods yet and head wounds can be unpredictable when the person is exposed to stress. Am I understood?” Evans asked and the two Generals glared at him but nodded. “Ten minutes,” he reminded them, looking at Brookes in particular. The younger man nodded and Evans felt a bit better about leaving them alone.

 

Olivier Armstrong leveled an unimpressed gaze on the three men who had entered her room. She was ambiguous about Brookes, having never interacted with the Lieutenant-Colonel before and only having what her brother told her about the man to go on. For the moment she paid him no mind. It was the two Generals who had her full attention and it wasn’t because of their rank.

 

“I assume you’re here to ask the questions you had tried to order my doctor to bring me out the coma to ask,” Olivier asked icily. Both Generals winced at her tone slightly before remembering themselves. Brookes looked appropriately apologetic even though – by all reports – he wasn’t the one who did anything.

 

“Lieutenant-General Armstrong, would you please tell us what happened the night you were attacked, in your own words,” General Widdon asked. Armstrong could see the hungry expressions in their eyes while Brookes looked almost scared of her answer. She could tell he was afraid she would identify Mustang and he wasn’t sure whether he wanted her too or not.

 

“At roughly 7:45pm, I was heading to Central Command to attend a meeting Fuhrer Grumman had requested while I was in town. As I was walking from the restaurant my family and I had had dinner at, I heard a noise in an alleyway. I had initially dismissed simply as a drunk or homeless person and went to continue to Central Command when I heard the noise again. This time I could hear it clearer and it sounded like someone asking for help. Fearing someone had been attacked and left severely injured, I entered the alleyway. I was partway down it when I realised something was wrong,” she told them. Brookes was the only person who was taking any kind of notes. The Generals looked two moments away from licking their chops in anticipation of the juicy bone she was offering. “The voice calling for help was repeating the same words over and over with no change in volume, tone or space between them. Someone had hidden what I assume was a voice recorder and set it to play to entice me into the alley,” she said before continuing.

 

“I sensed someone behind me and ducked in time to avoid the first blow but made an error when I reached for my sword, having forgotten that I didn’t have it on me at my parent’s behest to not bring weapons to the establishment we dined at. My attacker took advantage of that error and struck me in the head. I went down. I gained my other injuries when I tried to get back up to fight back and my attacker struck me to keep me down. They stopped their attack and seemed to be struggling with lighting something when the sound of a door inside the building behind me sounded. They tried a couple more times before another door closer to the alley shut inside the building. They fled before the woman found me. I lost consciousness soon after that,” she told them, sitting rigidly in bed and not saying another word. She took immense pleasure in watching the Generals struggle to contain their anger and annoyance at her not immediately given them what they wanted and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t amused by their behaviour at the minor pettiness she displayed.

 

“Would you be able to describe your attacker, Lieutenant-General Armstrong?” Widdon asked, voice grating as he struggled to remain respectful. She raised a very unimpressed brow at him.

 

“Of course, General Widdon,” she said coldly. Combes was practically salivating where he stood as he waited for her to say those magic words. “My attacker was of average height and build. They were wearing a standard military issued uniform jacket and slacks and black shoes. They had on a white undershirt and white gloves. There was nothing distinguishable about what they were wearing. I thought I heard something like someone trying to light a match and I did see sparks emitting from the gloves of my attacker.” She finished describing her assailant to them and leaned back against her pillows slightly. There were a few moments of silence where no one said anything, the Generals clearly thinking she still had more to say. “Was there anything else you needed to know, Generals?” She asked and her question caused Combes to lose the fragile hold on his temper.

 

“Yes there bloody well is! You need to name Mustang as your attacker!” He shouted at her. Poor Brookes startled at the increase in volume and even Widdon was startled by his fellow General’s outburst. Olivier was the only one who didn’t move an inch.

 

“You wish for me to go on record saying Brigadier-General Roy Mustang was the person who assaulted me?” Armstrong asked and Combes nodded obviously at her, like she was an idiot. Her eyes turned frigid. “You wish for me to lie on the official record? I did not see my attacker’s face. I could not pick them out of a line up. Hell, I can’t even tell you whether they were male or female,” Olivier told him haughtily. “I will not give a false statement for the official record just because my true answer doesn’t happen to further your agenda,” Armstrong sniffed at them.

 

“It was Mustang! No one else could’ve burned those victims or tried to set you one fire! You know it was Mustang! Just say it was him!” Combes demanded. Widdon decided to step in when it looked like Armstrong was about to slaughter Combes where he stood.

 

“What General Combes is trying to say,” Armstrong wanted to laugh at the way he was trying to sound so diplomatic despite the fact that it was clear he was just as eager for Mustang to burn at the stake as Combes was, “is that your statement is the only evidence we have that would physically tie the former Brigadier-General to the scenes of the crimes. If you don’t identify him as your attacker, the whole case could fall apart and a murderer would walk free and no one wants that. We wouldn’t want something like what happened to you or the other victims to happen to someone else.” Armstrong felt as shocked as Brookes looked. The nerve!

 

“Did you really just try and _guilt_ me into giving a false report?” Armstrong asked incredulously. “Did you just try and guilt the person whose doctors you tried to order and intimidate into reversing a potentially life-saving coma into giving you a false statement because you’re _threatened_ by Mustang? Did you really just try and manipulate the person whose family name garners more respect than you ever will into naming a man who might very well be innocent just because you know how much political power he holds and you’re _scared_ of him? I may not think much of Mustang but at least he can walk around knowing he never stooped so low as to try and manipulate an assault victim and have them risk their careers to try and further his pitiful revenge campaign,” Armstrong snarled at them. “The two of you are pathetic,” she sneered. “Get out of my hospital room. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes may remain if he has anymore questions,” she ordered.

 

“Mustang is as much a threat to you as he is to us. Surely you must see that?” Widdon tried and Armstrong let out a bark of laughter.

 

“For Mustang to be a threat against me, I’d have to be scared of him. Now, get out,” she snarled. Combes and Widdon stormed out of her hospital room. Combes looked like he was about to physically explode with anger and Widdon didn’t look much better. Brookes stayed where he was, not looking at the Generals when they turned back to stare at him when they realised he wasn’t following them. They wordlessly growled at him before shutting the door at Armstrong’s pointed glare. “Brookes?” The way she said his name told him she was feeling very patient.

 

“My apologies, Lieutenant-General Armstrong. If you want, I can come back tomorrow to ask my questions?” He offered but she shook her head. “Okay. Can you describe the voice on the recording? Was it male or female?” He asked.

 

“Female.” He nodded, writing her answer down in his notepad.

 

“When you said there was nothing distinguishable about the uniform your assailant wore, did you mean you couldn’t make anything about because your vision was affected by your head wound or because there was actually nothing to about the uniform that made it different? No medals or rips?” He asked. Armstrong thought about it before answering.

 

“My vision was too blurry to see anything definitive about the uniform,” she told him. He wrote her response down before looking up.

 

“Can you remember anything about their hair? Long, short, dark, light?” He asked and she sighed.

 

“No. I don’t recall anything,” she said.

 

“Your attacker didn’t speak at all?” She shook her head. “Did you see the weapon they struck you with?” She remembered the weapon.

 

“It was a simple metal rod. There was nothing identifiable about it,” she told him and his mouth twisted in the corner but he nodded as he wrote.

 

“You fought alongside Brigadier-General Mustang during Promised Day, correct?” He asked and she nodded. “Would you say you would be able to identify his fighting technique with any degree of accuracy?” He asked and Armstrong thought about where he was going with this.

 

“I would not be able to as Mustang and I didn't fight alongside one another. He was in charge of leading the main troops while I fought alongside my brother against one of the homunculi and the mannequin army unleashed by the corrupt military officers. But I can say with certainty that Mustang is not the kind of person to strike a person repeatedly while they are down,” she said. “Mustang may be an insufferable flirt but he’s not that dishonourable in a fight. That I can say for sure,” she told him. Brookes wrote it down.

 

“If I came in tomorrow with your statement as you’ve made it today, would you be willing to sign it?” He asked.

 

“That would be agreeable,” she said and he flipped his notebook shut and put it and his pen away.

 

“Thank you for your time, Lieutenant-General Armstrong. I wish you a speedy recovery," he saluted. She let him hold it for a moment before dismissing him. As he shut the door behind himself, she leaned fully back in her pillows, her head throbbing with the anger bubbling, wanting to be let out, at the way the Generals had behaved towards her. She growled at the lack of empathy and basic respect they showed, not to mention their underhanded tactics, and resolved to have a word with Grumman the next time she saw him. 

* * *

 

Most of the first couple of hours of the train ride had been spent talking about the case. Everyone asked as many questions as they could think of and Ed answered them as best as he could considering he’d only gotten to read the case files for a couple of hours before he’d had to go pick up Gracia and Elysia so they could get to Resembool. Ed still couldn’t quite believe the BAU were here, sans Garcia. He found it even harder to believe that Truth had sent them here. He felt like there should be another shoe about to drop somewhere.

 

The rest of the train ride was them discussing the BAU’s more recent cases and Ed telling them about his missions. He also told them about his most recent inter-dimensional trip and mourned the fact that he hadn’t thought to grab his tablet so he could show them proof but he swore up and down that he really had fought alongside five giant, coloured, mechanical Lion space ships that he then helped to transform into flesh-and-blood lions and their pilots as well as a space Princess and her excitable adviser and that he could really talk to them and hear them in his mind.

 

Ed felt a pang of regret that he’d blocked the Lions and couldn’t tell them about this development but used the fact that Lions had agreed and understood his reasoning to try and quell the negative feelings he had about the subject. The reactions of the BAU had him both annoyed and amused, which helped keep his mind off the Lions. Reid looked torn between believing him and telling him he was crazy and Ed could sympathise. The others looked like they thought he was crazy and were being polite about it. He ended up promising them that they could see his tablet when they had a few minutes to spare.

 

They still hadn’t run out of stories by the time they pulled into Resembool that afternoon. Ed stood immediately, used to the trains movements after his years of travelling on them with Alphonse. The others remained seated, not wanting to lose their balance and fall back down. When the train finally slowed to a stop, Ed led them out of the compartment and onto the station with a warning to stay with him so they didn’t get lost. They all had the same thought that his red jacket would be easy enough to spot if they did get separated but they didn’t say anything. Ed was obviously looking for someone as he headed straight for the street.

 

“Ed!” Someone called from their left and all of their heads snapped in that direction. They saw a dirty-blonde haired soldier walking towards them with a massive smile on his face.

 

“Brosh!” Ed said as he shook the man’s hand. “I didn’t expect to see you here," he said.

 

“Yeah, I needed to grab something from the train and spotted your jacket. I thought I should let you know,” his voice lowered and turned serious, “Lieutenant-General Armstrong woke up and gave her statement to the Generals today. Judging from what Major Armstrong has said and the rumours going around the base, she didn’t give them Mustang’s name. Armstrong said she told him she didn’t see her attacker’s face but she admitted she’d seen the person’s gloves spark,” he told him.

 

“Shit,” Ed swore. “The Generals will take that as proof of flame alchemy. They’ll use the information to push for a trial immediately. After all,” Ed laughed humourlessly, “no one else can use flame alchemy. I doubt I could even make sparks if push came to shove as a way to prove that Mustang wasn’t the one, if that’s how his defense tries to play it,” Ed said, scratching the back of his head. “We’ve gotta get to Grumman now. Thanks for the info, Brosh. I owe you,” he said, giving the man a grin and heading for the street at a faster pace while the BAU followed and Brosh shouted a goodbye. Ed was looking even harder for someone, his face relaxing after a few moments.

 

“Sergeant Browning!” He called to the man once he found him. The soldier immediately snapped to attention, hand raising to salute but Ed waved at him to stop. “No time for that. We need to get to Central Command ASAP,” he told him.

 

The BAU didn’t ask for introductions and neither did the soldier. They all piled into the car, with Ed climbing into the front passenger seat so they all fit and Browning pulled the car into the street and headed for the base, barely obeying the traffic laws in his rush to get Ed to the base as soon as he could.

 

When they pulled up at the base in record time, Ed thanked him profusely and they all got out of the car and followed Ed through the building, barely holding themselves back from running in their rush. Ed led them through numerous hallways and up dozens of stairs before they went through a set of doors that opened into a large room with several couches and bookshelves as well as a single desk that had a woman sitting behind it.

 

“Hi, Miss Samantha. Is Grumman in?” Ed called as he headed towards the desk.

 

“Yes, but Generals Widdon and Combes are in there and they aren’t in a good mood,” Samantha warned as she eyed up the group of strangers with Ed.

 

“Good,” Ed said as he knocked before opening the door himself when he heard Grumman permit his entrance. “Afternoon, Fuhrer Grumman,” he greeted, using his manners and saluting because he had them and because he did really respect Grumman. He was fun to play chess with whenever they had the time.

 

“We’re in a meeting!” Combes spat when he saw the blonde. All three men noted the six people with Ed but Combes and Widdon focused their fury on the blonde.

 

“Good for you,” Ed told him dismissively before turning back to the Fuhrer. Grumman looked calm but there was a slight twinkle of amusement in his eyes. “I have a favour to ask of you, Fuhrer Grumman, and I’m sure those two,” he gestured with his head, “will probably blow a fuse when they hear it.” Ed said, as a way to poke at the Generals and to warn Grumman.

 

“What do you need, Lieutenant-Colonel? Congratulations, by the way.” Grumman said.

 

“Thank you, Sir.” Ed dipped his head, enjoying the way he could see the Generals growing more purple by the second as he showed Grumman the respect they had tried to demand from him. “Fuhrer Grumman, may I introduce you to Agents Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan and Jennifer Jareau, as well as Doctor Spencer Reid?” He gestured to each person in turn. “Guys, this is Fuhrer Grumman and those two over there are Generals Combes and Widdon. Combes is the one who’s slightly more purple,” Ed told them. He turned back to Grumman to say more when Combes couldn’t hold it in.

 

“What is the meaning of this? Who are these strangers?” He demanded and Ed turned an unimpressed look at him.

 

“These are six of the people Mustang and I met on our first highly-classified mission for you, Sir, and they’re six of the people who we helped in the second of our highly-classified missions.” Grumman sat up straighter at this. “They’re the specialised unit of agents who help local law enforcement with solving cases by providing a psychological profile of the person they’re looking for and using that information to narrow down and capture suspects.” Widdon scoffed.

 

“I’m still not hearing a reason as to why you burst into our meeting like an ill-behaved child,” Widdon sneered.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman, I’m hoping you’ll permit them to work with me and my team to help clear Brigadier-General Mustang’s name and catch the real culprit behind the five murders, including Major-General Bernard Andrews -who both Mustang and I considered a friend – and the assault of Lieutenant-General Olivier Armstrong.” It took some effort to ignore Widdon’s remark but Edward did and the effect was immediate.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman, you cannot permit this! They are strangers! We can’t trust them with our cases or give them access to our military! What if they’re spies from Drachma or Creta?” Ed rolled his eyes at this one and Grumman cleared his throat suspiciously. The BAU seemed a mixture of annoyed, amused and offended.

 

“This is just a desperate ploy by a child to try and get his boss cleared so he doesn’t have to move under someone else’s control and have to act like every other military officer instead of something special!” Combes insisted, glaring venomously at Ed, who looked fairly bored with the shouting.

 

“I can alchemise their mouths shut,” Ed couldn’t help but offer, whispering out of the corner of his mouth to Grumman. The Fuhrer shot him an amused yet scolding glare and Ed sighed. “Dream killer,” Ed muttered as the Generals continued giving more ridiculous excuses for why the BAU shouldn’t be allowed to investigate the case.

 

“Are you two done giving these people and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric a prime example of how two highly-ranked military personnel shouldn’t be acting?” Grumman asked when they both stopped to take a breath. His question was enough to have them splutter embarrassingly rather than continue yelling. “I would like the two of you to wait outside until I call you back in. There are a few questions I wish to ask of our guests and you do not have the clearance needed to be involved or witness this conversation,” Grumman ordered them.

 

“Sir, you cannot be seriously considering this!” Widdon ground out when Grumman turned his attention to Ed and the BAU members and studied them.

 

“Why shouldn’t I? The defense is within their right to ask for experts of their own. I’m presuming Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and his team are currently acting for the defense?” Ed nodded immediately. Grumman continued. “As for your concern about them being spies – which was the only decent reason to be worried about them that I heard from you – I assume Lieutenant-Colonel Elric checked them himself.” Again, Ed nodded.

 

“Yes, Sir. I used my tracking array. As everyone knows, the array I created identifies life forces. Each person has a unique life force, like a fingerprint. Even if the Drachmans or Cretans had managed to create some sort of fantastical technology to disguise some of their countrymen as people who no Amestrian – Mustang and myself excluded – has ever met, they wouldn’t be able to disguise their life force,” Ed told Grumman, his tone making it obvious how ridiculous he thought the Generals sounded.

 

“As I thought,” Grumman said before focusing his attention back on the Generals. “I believe I asked you to leave. On the very slim chance that he is wrong, I believe Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and I will both be capable of holding them off long enough for the two of you to come back in and assist, should they prove to be a danger to myself or the military,” Grumman said calmly. The two Generals glowered in their seats, fingers tightening until their knuckles were white against the armrests before levering themselves out of their chairs.

 

“Very well, Your Excellency. We will remain outside until you call for us to come back in so we can resume our meeting,” Widdon said, voice shaking as he fought to remain as calm as possible. They watched the two men leave, shutting the door loudly behind them before the agents and Edward turned back to the Fuhrer.

 

“So,” Grumman said as he leant back in his chair and observe the group in front of him, “who would like to explain to me how exactly people from another dimension ended up in Amestris?” He asked, looking at them, curiousity in his eyes.

 

“It was Truth, Sir,” Ed said. Grumman sat back up at his words. “Truth grabbed them while they were in a meeting back home, Sir. It told them it needed them to do a job for them; that the course Amestris would be sent on if it was allowed to was not one Truth wanted because it would have to do more work.” Ed rolled his eyes a little. “It believes the BAU is the best choice for righting that wrong. Considering their training and careers in America, I can only think of one thing happening now that they would be suited to assisting us with,” Ed told him and Grumman caught on immediately.

 

“You believe they were sent here because of Brigadier-General Mustang,” Grumman said and Ed nodded.

 

“Yes, Sir,” he confirmed. Grumman’s gaze moved to the six agents standing behind Ed.

 

“What are your qualifications, if you don’t mind my asking?” Grumman questioned. Ed looked back at Hotch and invited him forward with a nod of his head. Hotch took the invite and stepped forward.

 

“In America, we work for our Federal government as FBI agents, Sir. Specifically, we work for the Behavourial Analysis Unit branch of the FBI, or Federal Bureau of Investigations.” When Grumman didn’t look like he understood that and Hotch wasn’t sure how to better word it, Ed stepped in.

 

“Basically, they’re Investigations, Sir, if Investigations was separate from the military and your direct control, Sir,” Ed told him and Grumman nodded before gesturing to Hotch to continue.

 

“Each BAU is a specialised group of individual agents, hand-picked from other divisions of the FBI to come together to form one unit. We are only one of those units and each group is roughly the same size as us, though we are normally seven, not six,” Hotch told him. “Our main job is to assist local law enforcement agencies or fellow FBI agents with cases where they require a psychological profile of the suspect. What we do is use evidence collected for the local law enforcement, anything gathered in our own investigation and our previous profiling experiences to create a profile of the unknown suspect or suspects to give to the local law enforcement to help them narrow their search and help them apprehend their suspect. Our unit specialises in spree killings, serial killings, mass murders and kidnappings,” Hotch told Grumman, standing straight-backed next to Ed.

 

“You said that you’re normally a team of seven, not six. Where is your seventh team member?” Grumman asked.

 

“Penelope Garcia is our seventh member, Sir. Her role in our team is technical assistance. She is not a field agent like the rest of us. We normally travel as a group of six with Garcia staying at our home base and assisting us from a distance. Truth believed her expertise would be wasted here since your dimension is not as technically advanced as ours. She was sent back to our dimension,” Hotch told him.

 

“I see,” Grumman said. “You believe you could help the Brigadier-General by finding whoever was really behind these attacks and clear his name?” Grumman asked and Hotch nodded.

 

“We do, Sir,” he said, conviction clear in his voice. The five remaining agents nodded as well.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric?” Ed met the Fuhrer’s gaze. “Do you trust them with this case?” Grumman asked, seeing the way the BAU shifted with his question. They knew as well as he did what it would mean if Ed said yes.

 

“I do, Sir. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with this,” Ed told him, completely honest. “Mustang’s team, Al and I; we’re good but our experience isn’t with this sort of crime. We deal with rogue alchemists or corrupt higher-ups. Al and I have only ever had something to do with a couple of serial killers before and every time that was because they were trying to kill us. The BAU live and breathe this sort of thing. I believe not asking them for help with this case would be a mistake, Sir,” Ed said, maintaining eye contact as he spoke so Grumman knew how serious he was being.

 

Grumman watched them for a moment before reaching for his phone and dialing a number and holding the phone to his ear. “Samantha? Would you please send the two Generals back in?” He asked. “Thank you.” He hung up the phone and watched as the door opened and the two Generals strode back into the room. The BAU and Ed exchanged glances but Ed gestured for them to remain still.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman.” Both Generals saluted before dropping the salute at Grumman’s nod. No one missed the way the Generals glared at the BAU or Ed. Ed, to his credit, didn’t look phased by their behaviour, merely bored instead.

 

“I’m permitting them to act as consultants for the defense.” Grumman glared at the two Generals when they tried to protest. “They – and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s team for this matter – will be given complete access to every single piece of information Lieutenant-Colonel Charlie Brookes and his team have gathered on this case. In the interest of fairness and to give Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes the chance to double-check the information, everything you find must be turned over to Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes. They will also be assigned a neutral party to be a liaison between them and the military,” Grumman told Edward.

 

“May I suggest 1st Lieutenant Maria Ross for the liaison?” Ed immediately asked.

 

“Out of all of the soldiers, why her?” Grumman asked, one hand held to quieten the Generals from forming their protests.

 

“She has a vested interest in seeing this case solved and the true killer arrested. She works for Major Armstrong and will want to see justice for his sister. She is also someone I trust to be completely honest with me, even when she thinks I won’t like what she tells me. Thank to certain military members throwing tantrums whenever they’re told something they don’t like,” an obvious glance to the Generals, “most of the lower-ranked soldiers are terrified to give higher ranked officers bad news. Lieutenant Ross has never had that fear. I also trust that she would never allow herself to be pressured or blackmailed into doing what a higher up wants so they can get the results they want,” Ed told Grumman. The BAU had yet to say anything themselves but all of them were far more intrigued by just watching the scene in front of them.

 

“Do the two of you have any legitimate reasons why Lieutenant Ross shouldn’t be the liaison?” Grumman asked the two Generals.

 

“No, Sir,” Combes ground out, barely moving his lips.

 

“No, Fuhrer Grumman,” Widdon admitted, voice as emotionless as he could make it but they could all hear the immense anger in it.

 

“Excellent. I’m glad we could all finally act like grown ups on something,” Grumman sighed before looking at the BAU. “Is there anything you need specifically to do your jobs?” He asked.

 

“No, Fuhrer Grumman. We just need access to all of the case files and relevant information and the authority to question and interview people connected to the case as we see fit.” Rossi stepped forward and whispered something to Hotch. “We would also need an area we can work out of,” he added.

 

“Very well. I believe the offices next to Lieutenant-Colonel Elric's is free?” He looked at Ed in question.

 

“I dunno. I haven’t seen anyone in there and Mustang hasn’t bitched to me about anyone next door so I assume it’s still empty, Sir,” Ed shrugged. General Combes looked at Grumman like he was hoping for Ed to be scolded for the way he spoke but he didn’t get that.

 

“Assuming those offices are still free, you may work out of there. As for your other requests, you’ll have complete access to every relevant piece of information to the case, as I said earlier. However, I believe you should have a member of either Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ or Elric’s team or 1st Lieutenant Ross or perhaps Master Sergeant Denny Brosh,” a look to Ed who nodded agreeably, “with you when you wish to question someone so that no toes are stepped on, so to speak,” Grumman said.

 

“What of our request? We were in the middle of discussing something when we were interrupted,” General Widdon demanded.

 

“Ah, yes. Your request to expedite Brigadier-General Mustang’s trial on the basis of Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s testimony,” Grumman said as he considered it. “Very well. As per our agreement for the arrest warrant, you are required to allow the defense adequate time to build a case. Do you remember?” Grumman asked and both Generals nodded. “Excellent. Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and his teams have one week from today to build as much of a case as they can,” Grumman told them. He gave Ed an apologetic look but for some reason, the blonde didn’t look too upset about the tight deadline. The Generals looked absolutely gleeful.

 

“Thank you, Fuhrer Grumman,” Combes said, almost giddy in his delight at what he was sure secured Mustang’s fate.

 

“That’s plenty of time,” Ed said. “Thank you, Fuhrer Grumman. We’ll have the real killer caught by then. If you’ll excuse us?” He asked. The Generals scoffed at Ed’s words.

 

“Of course. You’ll be wanting to get the case information,” Grumman said as Ed and the BAU headed for the door.

 

“Yes, Sir. We’ll swing by Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ office before we head for our own,” Ed told him before ducking through the door. “Thanks, Grumman!” Ed shouted as the door shut behind them while he and the BAU were heading for the doors on the other side of the room. Grumman sighed as he shook his head at the blonde.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I watched Endgame last night and I am not okay right now. Please make sure you don't spoil it for anyone by commenting about it but if you did want to talk to me about it, I'm happy for you to inbox me privately


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 –**

“You feeling alright?” Morgan asked the moment they closed the doors and headed to Mustang’s office. Ed gave him a weird look. “I could feel you holding back your snark any time the Generals opened their mouths. You okay?” Morgan asked, voice filled with laughter.

 

“Don’t you worry. I’ll just extra insubordinate next time,” Ed told them, grinning as he imagined the shades of purple he could make Combes and Widdon turn. Hotch and a few of the others looked worried for him. “They can’t come after me and they know it. As long as I’m not unduly disrespectful, anyway. Remember what I said? I answer only to Grumman and Mustang, not to everyone who’s above me in rank.” Ed told them. “They just don’t like the fact that there’s someone in the military of lower rank that they can’t throw their rank at and make them kneel. I probably get far too much enjoyment out of reminding them that I can tell them to fuck off without fearing repercussions,” Ed admitted, grinning a little sheepishly.

 

“As long as you’re sure it won’t come back to get you,” Hotch said, sounding a little worried.

 

“If it does, I’ll be found in the right and they’ll be the ones punished. Plus, it would look really bad if it got out that two Generals went after a lowly Lieutenant-Colonel because he refused to follow their orders when he didn’t have to. The fact that I’m the People’s Alchemist will make them think three times as well,” Ed shrugged nonchalantly as they turned another corner.

 

“The People’s Alchemist?” JJ asked curiously.

 

“Yeah. Apparently the public are actually in favour of a State Alchemist who’s not afraid of telling the military where to stick it. Who would’ve thought?” Ed said, in mock wonder. “We’re nearly there,” Ed told them.

 

“At Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ office?” JJ asked and Ed shot her a confused frown. “You said we would be heading there first to pick up the case files, remember?” She said, a little amused as Ed’s mouth opened in a silent ‘oh’.

 

“Yeah, so the thing is we’ve already got them. Technically, we didn’t steal them because Brookes gave us permission to pick up the copies he made but he was also under orders at the time to not grant us access to them so he snuck me note with the time he would conveniently out of his office with the majority of his team for a long enough period for us to nab the files,” Ed told them, waving off their concerned looks. “So, since we don’t need to head there, we’re just going straight to Mustang’s office. I’ll introduce you to everyone and you guys can go over the files for yourselves. After that, we can go see Mustang but then I’ll need to take you to the shops. Your clothes aren’t as stand out here as mine are in America but someone will notice eventually and ask questions. Especially if you wear the same thing over and over again. Plus, I need to get you booked into the hotel as well,” Ed said before coming to a stop suddenly. “That’s your office, by the way,” Ed told them, pointing to the door on his right.

 

Then he continued walking for a few steps before opening another door and stepping in to numerous greetings. The agents watched as some of the tension bleed out of Ed’s frame as he entered the room and greeted everyone else before turning back and beckoning them in. Reid was the last through the door and shut it behind him.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel, it’s good to see you back,” Hawkeye greeted from where she sat. None of them looked like they’d gotten any sleep, including Al.

 

“Brother!” He greeted enthusiastically as he gave Ed a hug before eyeing up the group behind him. “Who are they?” He asked.

 

“They’re who were waiting for me in Resembool,” Ed told them. This made everyone sit up straighter. “Everyone, meet the BAU from America. These are Agents Hotchner, Prentiss, Rossi, Jareau and Morgan and that’s Doctor Reid.” Like he’d done so in Grumman’s office, he pointed to each person as he said their name. “BAU team, this is Mustang’s team. That’s Captain Riza Hawkeye, 1st Lieutenant Jean Havoc, 1st Lieutenant Haymans Breda, 2nd Lieutenant Vato Falman and Master Sergeant Kain Fuery. This here is my little brother, Alphonse Elric,” Ed said, pointing out each member of the team as he spoke and shoving Al forward a little.

 

“It’s a pleasure to be able to put faces to the stories,” Hotch said, offering a hand for Alphonse to shake as everyone else got to their feet and made their way over.

 

“Likewise, Agent Hotchner,” Hawkeye said as she shook his hand. It took a little while for everyone to meet everyone but they finally managed it. Hawkeye gave Ed a look. “You went to Resembool to find out who the illegals were and you came back with your American friends? Only you, Sir,” She shook her head slightly.

 

“I know but do you guys realise what this means?” Ed asked excitedly. “They’re here to help! Remember the stories I told you about their jobs? They catch serial killers for a living. They can help get Mustang out and find the real killer,” He told them and watching the realisation sweep over their faces was amusing.

 

“Brother, how are they here?” Al asked and Ed grimaced.

 

“Truth sent them. In its vague-as-fuck way, it told them that if they completed the mission it sent them on than their trip home would be free. Problem is that it didn’t tell them about Mustang, it just tossed them through the Gate and they landed in Resembool. So, either Mustang isn’t their mission and it’s being a dick or Mustang is their mission and it’s being a dick by making me try and figure out whether or not there’s something else they’re supposed to be doing here.” Ed sighed in annoyance.

 

“Why would it send them in the first place? No offense, guys,” Havoc asked, looking at the BAU. “It’s not like we don’t have absolutely no experience catching a serial killer, even if it’s not really our normal gig.” Ed shrugged.

 

“It told them it didn’t like the path Amestris was heading down if they didn’t right the wrong. Said it would have more work on its grubby hands if we couldn’t get it right in time,” Ed told them. The team didn’t look happy with his answers and, if he was being honest, Ed wasn’t exactly happy with them either. “Look, guys, we can question Truth’s motives all bloody day long and get nowhere or we cannot look a gift horse in the mouth and utilise the BAU and worry about Truth and his dickish motives later,” Ed said. Hawkeye nodded in agreement.

 

“We’ll be glad to have your assistance,” Hawkeye said before looking at Ed. “I assume Fuhrer Grumman has been made aware, Sir,” she said.

 

“Yup. We just got back from his office. Oh, that reminds me that I’ve gotta contact Mustang’s lawyer and make him request our help for the case,” Ed said. “But back to Grumman. Yes, he knows. They’re gonna work out of next door and Lieutenant Ross will be their liaison. Someone from this team, Brookes’ team or Armstrong’s team has to accompany them wherever they go. Grumman promised Combes and Widdon that the BAU would also let Brookes know any new information they find, which I said was all good,” he told them warningly. “Remember, Brookes wants us to succeed here. Oh, and there’s one more thing,” Ed said before giving them an apologetic look. “We have a week from today to get as much evidence gathered as possible because Grumman granted the Generals permission to send Mustang to trial after that,” he told them. While he thought the week-long deadline was doable, he wasn’t sure how the others would react but much to his happiness, all of them nodded.

 

“Then we’d best get to work, Sir,” Hawkeye said and Ed grinned before waving the agents over and giving them access to all the files they had. 

* * *

 

“Sir, if I can talk to you in private, please?” Hawkeye’s quieter-than-normal voice had Ed startle out of his reading stupor. He blinked at her a couple of times before looking around. Everyone else was working on the files. The Amestrians had paired up with Americans to help explain things to them and Al was helping Dr Reid with everything. The two of them were getting along as well as he got along with Reid, which he was pleased about. Hawkeye had called Armstrong and he’d assured her that Ross would be reporting to them in the morning for her liaison assignment.

 

“Hm? Oh, yeah, sure,” Ed said when Hawkeye called his name again. The two of them headed into Mustang’s inner office – Ed gesturing for Al to stay when he went to stand – and Hawkeye shut the door behind them. “What’s up?” He asked.

 

“I’m not sure if it crossed your mind with everything that’s happened in the past couple of days but when you agreed to take over Mustang’s office, however temporary, you agreed to take on his workload as well, Ed,” Hawkeye told him and was surprised when he snapped his fingers.

 

“I _knew_ there was something I’d forgotten to ask you!” He exclaimed. “Yeah, no, I realised that when I sighed the transfer form. I was wondering how much you’re allowed to help with it?” He asked but didn’t give her a chance to answer before explaining his question. “Because, what I was thinking was that if you could help me – mainly because I still don’t know what Mustang actually does all day – than we could get it out of the way a lot quicker and can get back to helping the teams,” he explained.

 

“I’d be happy to help as much as I can, Sir,” she told him, happy he was aware and that she wouldn’t be dealing with a blonde Mustang. “Fuhrer Grumman took pity on us yesterday and today and sent all the paperwork he could to other departments but we still have some we need to get done. Do you want to start on it now and I’ll explain what you need to know?” She asked and Ed nodded gratefully.

 

They headed to Mustang’s desk and Ed placed himself next to the chair, leaving it for Hawkeye to take, which she did, and they got started on the small pile of papers sitting there. Ed was learning a lot about what Mustang actually had to do while at his desk but he wasn’t seeing why he always complained about it. He wondered if he’d be able to by the time they got his name cleared. After all, the amount on the desk was barely anything compared to what he normally got, according to Hawkeye. It did take them nearly three-quarters of an hour to get through the pile, though that was due to Hawkeye explaining everything to Ed that he didn’t know.

 

From what Ed had explained to him, it seemed that Mustang was in charge of everything that had to do with State Alchemists. He sorted through mission reports that requested an alchemist’s help and assigned them to the alchemist who could help best, keeping in mind the town’s history with certain alchemists and what alchemists were even available at the time. He was also in charge of sorting through reports that claimed that crimes were committed by alchemists and figuring out which ones were real before sorting through the severity of the crimes and getting someone out there to help apprehend the criminal. Hawkeye told Ed that sometimes she would have to chase after a particular officer for Mustang because their report was missing information, which was why it was important that Mustang read through the reports thoroughly.

 

When they finished the last of the paperwork, Ed had a better understanding of Mustang’s job description. Hawkeye left first with the completed paperwork so she could file it where it needed to go. Ed followed her out quickly though and saw everyone still working. He glanced at the clock and swore.

 

“If you guys want to go home, you can. I want to visit Mustang so he and the BAU can catch up and bring him up to date then I said I’d take these guys to the shops so I can get them some clothes since Truth didn’t exactly give them the chance to pack anything. Then we’d probably get food and I’d book them into a hotel,” Ed told them. No one moved, except for the BAU. They got to their feet and a moment later so did Al but everyone else stayed put.

 

“We’ll keep going, Chief. Besides, knowing you, you’ll be back after all of that,” Havoc grinned knowingly, causing Ed to roll his eyes but grin right back.

 

“Yeah, you’re probably right. If any of you want to sleep but don’t wanna leave, remember Mustang has two comfy couches in there.” He pointed a thumb at the inner office.

 

“Why don’t you set them up in some of the empty dorm rooms on base, Sir?” Hawkeye suggested. Ed frowned questioningly.

 

“That’s an option? I thought civilians weren’t allowed to stay in the dorms without a military person with them,” Ed said and Hawkeye shook her head.

 

“Civilians contracted with the military are welcome to make use of any spare dorms available. Master Sergeant Fuery, you live in the dorms. Are there three dorms in close proximity to each other, preferably in close proximity to you as well, available?” Hawkeye asked and Fuery’s eyebrows scrunched together as he thought.

 

“I think there are three dorm rooms next to each other a floor above mine, Captain,” Fuery told her. Hawkeye nodded her thanks.

 

“Are the six of you okay with camping in military dorms?” She asked and received six nods or words of confirmation. “I’ll make it happen than,” she promised.

 

“Thanks, Miss Riza,” Ed said gratefully. “Does anyone want anything for dinner? My treat?” He asked and naturally, everyone placed an order once they figured out where they wanted dinner from. Ed nodded, trusting that he and Al would remember everything between the two of them. “Alright. We’ll be back as soon as we can,” he promised as he ushered the BAU and his brother out the door as Mustang’s team yelled acknowledgements before being stared back into working by Hawkeye.

* * *

The Warrant Officer standing guard to the entrance to the building with the holding cells in it was watching them wearily as the group approached. Ed flashed his pocket watch and the soldier relaxed slightly before letting them through. The second guard glanced at them before telling them they needed to be gone within ten minutes. Ed thanked him before letting Al lead them through since he knew which cell Mustang was in currently. Before they reached his cell though, Ed got a shit-eating grin on his face before making the BAU wait out of sight. Because they weren’t idiots, they knew what Ed was planning but decided to let the blonde have his fun. Al looked like he wished they wouldn’t.

 

“Well, you look cozy,” Ed said as soon as he was in Mustang’s sight. Al was walking with him but he’d decided to just let his brother get it out of his system. “At least in here you can’t be shot by Miss Riza for napping all day.”

 

“Fullmetal. What a pleasant surprise,” Mustang said as if it were anything but. “I heard you were in Resembool.”

  
  
“Yeah, Miss Gracia and Elysia are taking a well-earned holiday at Granny’s,” Ed told him. “Nice outfit. Grey really suits you. Maybe I should dye your uniforms that colour,” Ed said, eyes glinting like he was actually thinking about it.

 

“Brother,” Al whispered like he was trying to find the inner strength to deal with this. Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“Fine, Al,” Ed said before grinning at Mustang “You wouldn’t believe who I found in Resembool, Mustang.” Ed waved the BAU over as Mustang sat up and Ed had the pleasure of watching the man’s jaw drop much in the way he assumed his own did when he caught sight of the BAU.

 

“How is it you can go to Resembool and come back with people from another dimension, Fullmetal?” Mustang asked as he grinned at the agents.

 

“You know, Miss Riza actually said something along those lines,” Ed told him. “Truth nabbed them and dumped them in Resembool. They asked the first military officer they came across to find me and he arrested them for not having any papers permitting the entrance into Amestris,” Ed told him.

 

“What do they have to pay?” Mustang asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“Nothing, apparently. All they gotta do is solve this case with us and they should be able to go home, free of charge,” Ed told him and Mustang looked like he believed that as much as Ed did.

 

“And you believe it?” Mustang asked and got a good look at the expression on Ed’s face. “Of course you don’t. I assume you’re gonna be trying to figure that out as well,” Mustang said before turning back to the agents. “Regardless, it’s good to see you guys again. Definitely not something I figured might happen but nonetheless, I’m grateful for all the help I can get,” Mustang said.

 

“It’s good to see you again, Brigadier-General Mustang. I’ll be even happier to say that when we get you out of here,” Hotch said.

 

“Are you okay, Brigadier-General Mustang?” JJ asked, eyeing the wooden board worriedly.

 

“As good as can be, considering,” Mustang assured her but she didn’t look that placated. “So what’s happened since yesterday?” Mustang asked.

 

“The team and I spent the rest of the day and night going over the case files and I looked into some of your old case where you had to take out the criminal with flame alchemy and compared the photos with photos from this case and I think I’ve found enough discrepancies between the burned victims to cast some doubt over you having been the perpetrator here, Sir,” Al told him and Mustang nodded. “Miss Sheska came by at lunchtime to give us Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s statement. Oh, she’s awake, obviously, and she’d doing well. The doctors are mainly worried about her head wound but they say she can go home when her stitches are out, if the wound is still good,” Al told him.

 

“Well, that’s good to hear. What did she say? Anything that can help?” Mustang asked and Al sighed.

 

“Not really, Sir. She refused to name you as her attacker though, claiming she never saw their face and couldn’t even tell their gender from their uniform since they were wearing the slacks,” Al told him and Mustang sighed a little.

 

“That’s a shame. But that will help my defense a little,” Mustang said.

 

“Speaking of,” Ed said and Mustang looked at him, “your lawyer needs to officially ask us to work on his behalf.” He gestured to himself and the BAU. “Also, tell him we bought a week. If we don’t have the evidence to get you out of here in one week’s time, you’ll be heading to trial. The BAU and I kinda literally walked in on Combes and Widdon badgering Grumman into sending you to trial ASAP,” Ed told him and Mustang gave him a look.

 

“What do you mean you walked in on them in a meeting?” Mustang asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“I knocked first,” Ed told him.

 

Mustang looked like he wanted to hit his head against the wall. He also didn’t look like he appreciated the snickers coming from a couple of the BAU team members. “What happened?” Mustang looked like he didn’t want to know but figured he probably should.

 

“Well, Grumman agreed to let them help, which is great. They have to report to Brookes and your lawyer. Uh, he gave us the week deadline and they get to operate out of the office next door to us. Oh, and Lieutenant Maria Ross is their military liaison for the time they’re here,” Ed summed up. “Miss Riza is seeing if there are some dorms on base for them to stay at so they won’t have to travel to and from the hotel every day. Also, I did your paperwork since I’m technically you at the moment. Don’t panic,” he rolled his eyes when it looked like Mustang was just about to do that, “Miss Riza explained everything to me and was nice enough to help me with it in case I had questions,” Ed told him.

 

“She helped you? Why? She doesn’t help me,” Mustang asked, looking a little pitiful as he realised his captain would help Ed with the paperwork and not him.

 

“Maybe because she knows I won’t use her help as a chance for me to slack off,” Ed snarked. Mustang glared at him.

 

“As much as I hate to break up this lovely banter,” Hotch said dryly, “we wanted to ask a couple of questions before we head into town and do what we’ve gotta get done tonight,” he said as Al pulled Ed away from the cell bars so he couldn’t reach through to try and deck Mustang if the man said anything.

 

“Sure,” Mustang agreed easily.

 

“Do you know anyone who would want to frame you and is capable of pulling this off?” Rossi asked and Mustang sighed.

 

“It’s not like I have a short list of people who’d want to see me here but I honestly don’t know anyone who is still alive and would have had the opportunity and time to pull something this elaborate off,” Mustang told them but they looked like they expected that answer.

 

“Have you noticed anyone following you in the last few months? Anyone who was watching far too closely for it to have been simply knocked aside as curiosity or interest?” Morgan asked and Mustang shook his head again.

 

“Not that I know of and I’m normally pretty good at spotting that kind of thing. I’ve had my fair share of stalkers over the years.” Mustang shrugged. “Why do you think I have a stalker?” Mustang asked and Ed had to admit he kind of wanted to know the answer as well.

 

“The fact that these murders happened on the few nights where you happened to have no alibi is too obvious to ignore. What would the chances be of the killer choosing five nights you had no alibi if they didn’t have knowledge that you would be home by yourself? Plus, there’s the fact that all five victims had a grudge of varying degrees against you, with the exception of Major-General Andrews. It could be argued that Lieutenant-General Armstrong doesn’t hold a grudge against you either. Sure, she doesn’t like you but there’s no discernible reason for it but genuine dislike though I feel like that feeling is mutual,” Hotch said and Mustang shrugged.

 

“We aren’t each other’s biggest fans but I certainly couldn’t imagine her attacking me in a dark alley for no reason than just because,” Mustang admitted.

 

“Yeah, we read her statement. She said something similar,” JJ told him. “However, the Generals don’t seem to care that you weren’t named. She told them she saw sparks coming from the gloves and that seemed to be good enough for them,” JJ sounded disgusted. Both Mustang and Ed snorted.

 

“The Generals would have jumped on any minute or abstract detail she had given them and used it as proof that it couldn’t have been anyone else other than me,” Mustang told her with an unamused smile.

 

“Miss Sheska told me that the Generals tried to manipulate Lieutenant-General Armstrong into giving them your name by using the guilt she’d feel if they had to release you and more people were attacked,” Al told them. Ed and Mustang both laughed at that.

 

“Aw man, I wish I could’ve been there for that,” Ed chuckled. “She would’ve slaughtered them.” Mustang looked like he very much agreed with that statement.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric?” A voice from the other side of the group had everyone look that way to see the soldier from the front desk.

 

“Yeah?” Ed asked when the guard looked a little scared.

 

“I have to ask you and your group to leave, Sir,” He told Ed like he was preparing himself for Ed to tell him he’d leave when he wanted to.

 

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realise we’d hit our time limit yet. We’ll be gone in a minute,” Ed swore and the man nodded, visibly relaxing as he headed back to the desk. “That actually reminds me that I’m pissed at you for making me Lieutenant-Colonel,” Ed told Mustang, his golden eyes blazing as they narrowed. Mustang didn’t look phased.

 

“You needed to be promoted so that Brookes wouldn’t have as easy a time trying to give you orders because the Generals were pulling his strings. I know,” he said before Ed could say anything, “that your contract would’ve protected you from that but we all know you would’ve done what Brookes said if he told you the Generals were threatening him. This way, he wouldn’t be able to order you to do anything and the Generals know that,” Mustang said.

 

“I’m still gonna get you back for this,” Ed promised him. “I think your office needs to be spruced up a bit. Maybe I’ll redesign it,” Ed said, tapping his chin in thought.

 

“You leave my office alone, Fullmetal,” Mustang growled and Ed grinned toothily.

 

“You mean, _my_ office?” Ed asked, eyes twinkling with mischief. “Anyway, we need to go before we have to be asked again. Is there anything else you guys need to ask?” Ed asked the BAU.

 

“What time are you normally allowed visitors? That way we know when to come back to question you fully,” Hotch asked.

 

“Any time during the day. My lawyer has been coming in to discuss my case with me in the early morning, if you want to talk to him for some reason,” Mustang told them. The BAU nodded. That was easy enough.

 

“Don’t forget to ask him to officially request our help,” Ed said and Mustang rolled his eyes.

 

“I heard you the first time,” Mustang told him. “Unlike you when it comes to unnecessary property damage, I don’t need to be told things multiple times,” Al grabbed Ed before he could retaliate.

 

“We should go, Brother, before all of the stores shut,” Al said while some of the BAU struggled not to laugh.

 

“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that,” Ed said, ignoring how his little brother rolled his eyes. “Let’s go. Later, Mustang,” Ed said, giving a half-hearted wave as he grabbed Al to drag him out.

 

“Bye, Brigadier-General Mustang!” Al called as he followed his brother. He knew his older brother was simply giving the BAU a bit of time to say their own goodbyes while he placated the guard.

 

“Bye, Alphonse,” Mustang called back as the blondes disappeared. “You guys should go too.” Mustang said, gesturing to the door. “Before Fullmetal gets something in his head and forgets you’re here in favour of figuring the mystery out,” he told them with a half-smile.

 

“A couple of us will be by tomorrow to talk with you. Try and think back, maybe as far back as when you got back from America the first time. See if you can’t think of someone who had the opportunity and means to frame you. Also, try and think back to any moment where you’d felt like you were being intensely watched in the last few months. Try and remember who you saw in those moments. One of them might be the person we’re looking for,” Hotch told him and Mustang nodded to show he would do as suggested.

 

“Anything you think will help us figure this out, let us know, even if you initially dismiss it as something irrelevant after you’ve thought of it,” Rossi said.

 

“I will. Thank you for assisting my team with this. I know Fullmetal will appreciate the help when he gets a real taste of what I actually do all day. I’m looking forward to seeing how he handles all the paperwork I have to deal with,” Mustang said, slightly vindictively as he thought about the blonde doing all of that paperwork.

 

“You’re welcome, Brigadier-General Mustang.” Hotch decided not to touch the subject of the paperwork and Edward. “We’ll get you out of here,” he told him and Mustang gave him a half-smile.

 

“I’d appreciate that,” Mustang said. The rest of the BAU exchanged goodbyes with Mustang and the flame alchemist watched as the team left before getting as comfortable as possible on his bed.

 

One week. All he could think was they had one week to try and do what Brookes couldn’t in months. He knew having the BAU bettered their chances and then there was Edward’s legendary stubbornness but even Mustang couldn’t help the small flicker of doubt in his mind. One week wasn’t very much time and the Generals certainly wouldn’t make things easy if they could help it. Edward may be protected and the team would be covered under that protection but Mustang knew how badly the Generals wanted him gone and he felt a momentary pang of fear for them all. The Generals might want him gone badly enough to cut down anyone in their path. Mustang just hoped the week deadline would also mollify the Generals so they didn’t do anything drastic to keep Mustang in prison.

* * *

Ed and Al were in the midst of a minor argument when the BAU rejoined them where the guard was stationed. They stopped when they spotted the team but Al couldn’t help but sneak one last whispered shot in about how Ed wasn’t allowed to redecorate Mustang’s office while the man was in the holding cells. Ed glared at him before thanking the guard and leading everyone back out of the building. They nodded to the guard stationed at the front of the building before Ed took a hard-left turn and headed up that path.

 

“Hey, Ed?” Reid called. Ed looked back at him. “Why did Mustang have that board on his hands?” He asked.

 

“The military had to come up with a way to be able to secure a criminal alchemist and ordinary cuffs don’t work. The board prevents alchemists from being able to draw a circle or – in my case, anyway – clap. Mustang needs his gloves to be able to snap, unless he’s got a lighter but even then he’d need a free hand,” Ed told them and silence fell once more.

 

“So, what’s the plan?” Morgan asked after a few moments of silence as they followed the two blondes.

 

“Well, I figured you lot would want to get clothes first so we’re heading to the part of town that has a few shops close to each other to choose from. I don’t actually know what else you guys need but there’s other shops in the same area. Then we need to go and get food for everyone and we can go back to the office and you guys can help us work or head to the dorms and get some sleep before starting tomorrow,” Ed told them as they got off the base and headed across the street.

 

There wasn’t an awful lot of traffic, foot or otherwise, on the streets at this time and Ed knew they’d be cutting it close with the shops. Thankfully, no one seemed to recognise Ed or if they did, they didn’t care, and they were left alone as they made their way to the city’s shopping district. Ed was pointing out different stores. Reid wanted to head for the bookstore immediately but Hotch told him he could go and look at it later. Both Ed and Reid whined but Hotch wasn’t moved by it. Al was too busy cackling at his brother’s expression to try and help. The elbow to the ribs Al got was a complete accident.

 

They entered the first clothing store Ed spotted and immediately spread out to check out what they offered. JJ and Prentiss headed for the women’s section and the men left them to their own devices so they wouldn’t be pulled into giving opinions and the like. Reid and Morgan had made that mistake only once and both decided they’d rather go up against a disorganised psychopath than go through that again. It was only made worse because Garcia was with them but they weren’t going to bet on the two women being less intense without Garcia amongst them.

 

Morgan, Reid, Rossi and Hotch were done in practically no time, grabbing enough clothing to last them the week and were close enough to their usual style so they wouldn’t be too uncomfortable plus some sleepwear. The ladies grabbed a few things that they liked and wouldn’t interfere with them running after suspects and chasing down leads as well as their own pajamas. Ed asked if they were all done and got six assurances they were before he led them to the checkout area and had the young girl ring them up. Ed paid up and they left with their purchases.

 

“Okay, is there anything else you guys need?” Ed asked as they stood to the side of the path so they weren’t in the way of the other people who were out shopping at this time.

 

“We need toiletries and hygienic supplies,” JJ said. Ed nodded and seemed to wait for a few moments to see if there were any other requests. When none were forthcoming, Ed shrugged and led them to the pharmacy and grocery store that neighboured each other.

 

“If one of these stores don’t have what you need, the other will,” Ed told them, gesturing to both buildings.

 

The BAU chose the pharmacy to raid first, grabbing hair brushes, tooth brushes, tooth paste and whatever else they thought they might need before heading to the where the middle-aged lady was waiting to ring them up. Ed handed over the money and thanked her while the BAU put their stuff in their bags and they left.

 

“Next up is food. The restaurant everyone wants food from is closer to Central Command than here. Are you sure you guys have everything you’ll need?” Ed asked and saw Reid’s eyes flash towards the bookstore before nodding alongside the others. “There are alchemy texts in Mustang’s office you’re welcome to read if you want to read something before you can visit the bookstores, Reid,” Ed told him and the young man’s face lit up with delight. Morgan laughed as he ruffled his hair, making Reid swat at his hands.

 

“Let’s go get food before Havoc hunts us down,” Al suggested, reminding Ed they still had everyone to feed.

 

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Havoc is not a fun person to be around when he’s hungry,” Ed told the bemused BAU.

 

“Sounds like getting dinner would be in our best interests,” Hotch said dryly, the corner of his mouth twitching like he wanted to smile.

 

“More than likely,” Ed nodded in agreeance while Al nodded beside him.

* * *

 

They were about halfway to the restaurant when Ed remembered something he hadn’t asked any of the agents yet, the question having slipped his mind when they were train travelling back to Central.

 

“Hey, do you guys speak to the NCIS team at all?” Ed asked. Al perked up at the mention of the other federal agents his brother had worked with.

 

“I talk to Abby and McGee almost every week,” Reid told him and Ed looked at him expectantly. “They’re doing good. McGee says there’s weird tension between Tony and Ziva because of some argument they had but they’re slowly resolving whatever it was. Abby has been telling me some of their more interesting cases over the last few months,” he told him. Ed frowned and hope that his two friends would be able to move past their argument soon.

 

“DiNozzo and I talk but it’s usually about cases and movie recommendations,” Morgan told him with a shrug. “I know Garcia and Abby have become very firm friends over their love of technology. They talk every other day.” He grinned as he recalled Garcia telling him about a few of their conversations.

 

“Those two would be unstoppable together and you better hope they don’t try and take over the world,” Ed told him and Morgan wasn’t the only one who nodded in agreement with his statement.

 

They talked more about the things the NCIS agents had told them about while they continued their trek to the restaurant. Ed entered and was immediately greeted warmly by the owner the moment he spotted him.

 

“Hey, Ed. Good to see you again. I heard about Mustang. I’m sure you and the team are very busy trying to find the truth,” the man said as he walked over and grasped Ed’s hand in greeting. “Who are your friends?” He asked as he spotted the agents.

 

“Yeah, we’ve just started our own investigation. I’ve been sent to grab fuel for everyone,” Ed grinned. “These are some friends who are helping us out. They specialise in these sorts of cases so they’re giving us a hand,” he told him. “Guys, this is Mark. He owns this restaurant. He’s also one of the chefs,” Ed introduced them and left the agents to make their own introductions as they saw fit.

 

“Nice to meet all of you. Any friend of the Elric brothers is a friend of mine,” Mark said. “What can I get for you guys?” He asked, grabbing his order pad and pen, poising the tip to the paper and looking at them expectantly. Between the two of them, Ed and Al were able to order for the entire team and the BAU grabbed the menus, flicked through the options and placed their orders. Mark raised a brow at Ed once he’d finished taking the orders but the blonde nodded so he tore the pages he’d written off and assured then they’d have their food ready for them as soon as possible.

 

There was silence for a few moments before the agents started asking questions again. The difference was that this time they were asking Alphonse rather than Edward.

 

“So, Alphonse, how old are you?” JJ asked as they waited.

 

“I turned 17 before Brother’s most recent trip out of this dimension,” Al told her.

 

“So, you were 11 when Ed joined the military?” She asked and Al nodded. Ed was talking with Reid and Morgan while everyone else was listening to JJ and Al’s conversation. “That must’ve been tough. Ed told us about some of your missions,” she said sympathetically. She still didn’t like the thought that a 12-year-old would be allowed to join the military and see what he did. Having his 11-year-old brother tagging along probably made Ed stress even more.

 

“Sometimes it was but there isn’t much I would change about our situation.” Al shrugged. “Ed was adamant about me staying out of the military’s control and since I was the younger brother, I couldn’t join without Ed’s permission, even if I wanted too. Brother didn’t have a lot of options to choose from after our accident. The offer Brigadier-General Mustang made was pretty much the only option that we could take, given our circumstances.” Al told them, watching his brother laugh at whatever Morgan had just said.

 

“What would you have changed if you could have?” Prentiss asked. No one missed the way Al’s eyes dimmed a little.

 

“Just a couple people we couldn’t save. If I could go back, I’d save them. Brother feels the same,” Al told them sadly. The four members who weren’t talking to Ed looked at each other before looking at the other Elric.

 

“Do you mean Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes?” Hotch asked and Al startled, not expecting them to have known his name.

 

“How do you know about Hughes?” Al asked. He saw the agents’ glance at Ed before looking back at him.

 

“Ed and Mustang mentioned him when we found the last victim Harding killed on their first trip to America,” Rossi answered and that’s when it clicked for Al. Edward had told him about his reflection’s death at the hands of Harding.

 

“Oh, right,” Al said a little dumbly. “But, yes, his death would be one we would prevent,” Al answered the original question. Despite the fact that Edward’s nightmares seemed to be getting better since the trip to help Voltron, he did still have them. Hughes was definitely still one of the main features in his nightmares but Al thought that Ed seemed to be steadily coming around to what everyone who knew about his nightmares had been telling him; Hughes’ death wasn’t his fault.

 

“What were some of the more enjoyable missions you helped Ed with, Alphonse?” JJ asked, determined to get this conversation away from something that obviously weighed so heavily on his shoulders.

 

The effect was immediate and Al immediately starting grinning and telling them about the time they’d been on a mission when Ed had been 15 and this 4-year-old boy had practically attached himself to Ed’s side when he realised who he was. Ed had been in a foul mood the whole trip there because a lead hadn’t panned out again and this kid refused to let his bad mood affect his hero-worship of Ed. The agents grinned as they listened to him describe how Ed had realised the kid wasn’t going to leave him alone and begrudgingly let him tag along – since the mission wasn’t a dangerous one – and eventually allowed the kid’s enthusiasm to get him out of his bad mood.

 

“Here you go, Ed,” Mark called and Ed sprang to his feet immediately. Mark had placed all of the food in take-away containers then into bags for them to carry.

 

“That was quick. Thanks, Mark,” Ed grinned at him. “Havoc will be very happy to see us.” Mark laughed as he handed bags to Ed, Al and Morgan. Ed palmed his bags off to Hotch so he could grab the money to pay Mark for the food. “What’s the damage?” Ed asked as Al started herding the agents out of the restaurant with a call of thanks to Mark, who waved goodbye to him.

 

“You just cover your new friends’ food. The rest is on me,” Mark said, waving Ed’s protests off. “No, consider it my way of helping you help Mustang. Now, get going. I’m sure you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you,” Mark told him sternly. Ed hesitated but handed over the money to cover the BAU’s food and gave him massive grin.

 

“Thanks, Mark. I owe you!” He said before heading out of the door to catch up with the others. Mark watched the blonde leave and hoped he’d be able to clear his boss’ name. Mark had been listening to the gossip around town – one of the side effects of owning a restaurant – and knew that if public opinion was all it took to convict someone, Mustang would be in trouble. It seemed like the majority of Central was convinced Mustang was guilty and what really irritated Mark was that those people would barely be able to identify Mustang from a line up if their life depended on it. A shout of his name from the kitchen had him heading back to work with a sigh.

* * *

Ed had caught up with the others in no time and took the bags back from Hotch before letting himself be drawn into whatever they were discussing as they made the journey back to Central Command. The group raised some eyebrows when they passed through the main gates but Ed just told the guards they were here with the Fuhrer’s permission and they had no problems. When Ed opened the door to the office, he was almost pounced on by Havoc and Breda, both of who were apparently starving to death where they stood.

 

“Stop being dramatic. That’s Mustang’s job,” Ed grumbled good-naturedly at them as he handed over the bags he had to the two men and helped them start unpacking and sorting the food out.

 

“Thank you for the food, Sir. Were you able to get everything done?” Hawkeye asked as she scooped up her pasta dish and sat back at her desk.

 

“Yeah. Were you able to get them rooms in the dorms, Miss Riza?” Ed asked and Hawkeye nodded around her bite of pasta. Everyone else was settling down in the chairs that had been borrowed from the office next door and digging into their food. The BAU had piled their purchases against the wall so no one would be tripping over them.

 

“Yes, Sir. Master Sergeant Fuery had been correct. There were three rooms next to each other on the floor above his. The BAU will have use of them for as long as the need them, Sir,” Hawkeye told him.

 

“Awesome. Thanks, Miss Riza,” Ed gave her a smile before eating his own food. There was a knock at the door that startled just about everyone. It took Ed a couple of moments to realise why everyone was looking at him. “Oh, right. Enter!” He called out to whoever was on the other side of the door while everyone bar Hawkeye, Falman, Hotch and Rossi were quick to put food in their mouths to stop from laughing. “Shut up,” Ed scowled at them as the door opened up to reveal 1st Lieutenant Maria Ross. “Miss Maria, hey!” Ed said as he waved at her to come in. She did so, closing the door behind.

 

“Hey, Ed. How are you?” She asked, smiling at him and Alphonse, who was waving at her from where he sat next to Reid, opposite Ed.

 

“I’m good, considering,” he shrugged. “So, what’s up? We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow,” he asked and she nodded.

 

“The assignment Major Armstrong had me on wrapped up earlier than anticipated. Major Armstrong suggested I head over to see if you were still here and report early for my assignment with you,” Maria told him. Ed nodded before standing.

 

“Awesome, this will save us time tomorrow,” he said before turning to the others. “You’re liaison for these six. These are Agents Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan, Jennifer Jareau and Doctor Reid.” He pointed them each out to her. “Guys, this is 1st Lieutenant Maria Ross,” he said. They exchanged nods and greetings before Maria turned to Ed.

 

“Major Armstrong only told me I was acting as liaison for a group of specialists who Fuhrer Grumman had permitted to work on Brigadier-General Mustang’s case. Is there anything else I should be told?” She asked respectfully though her voice was wrought with curiosity.

 

“Yeah, you remember what you saw when Armstrong, Al and Teacher brought Mustang and me back that one time?” Maria nodded. “Meet the six people we met the first time we wound up in their dimension.” Maria snapped back to look at them, eyes scruitinising as she took them in now that she was armed with this new information.

 

“Okay. Is there a story I’m supposed to be using should someone ask me their nationality?” Maria asked, turning back to Ed.

 

“Not really,” Ed shrugged. “Just tell whoever asks that that information is classified unless the Fuhrer has read them in. If they try to say they are, point out that if they were than they would know where the agents are from and the fact they’re asking tells you they weren’t, in fact, read in and you aren’t authorised to tell them,” Ed told her. “If they push the matter, tell them to take it up with me or Grumman.”

 

“Yes, Sir. Congrats, by the way, on your promotion,” Maria nudged him as he groaned.

 

“I’m painting Mustang’s office the most hideous colour I can think of,” Ed muttered, causing Maria to laugh good-naturedly with Hawkeye gave him a warning look but there wasn’t any actual reprimand so Ed wondered if he’d actually get away with it.

 

“What’s the plan, Ed?” Maria asked after everyone settled down after finishing their dinner and chatting with Maria for a few minutes.

 

“It depends on your charges. This team will work in tandem with the agents and when needed, we’ll follow their lead,” Ed told her, relaxing back in his chair. “I just need you to help them stay within the military’s protocols and ensure that no one tries to get in their way. We can’t afford to have the Generals turn around and have any evidence they come up with that might help Mustang win dismissed because of some insignificant protocol they didn’t know about was accidentally broken.” Maria nodded, accepting her orders.

 

“So, how do you guys normally operate on a case like this?” Al asked as he leant forward in interest. Everyone else turned to look at the members of the BAU, waiting for their answer. Hotch took the lead.

 

“Ordinarily we would start by having Garcia run deep background checks on all the victims. Cross-referencing each and every detail of their lives to see what connections we could use to try and figure out how the victims are being targeted and why. I’ll admit that we are a touch out of our depth without the help of the technology we’re used too but I’m positive we will be able to figure out who is really behind these crimes, especially with your help,” Hotch said, giving them a tight smile. “Reid,” the young doctor sat a little straighter, “I need you to read everything. You will be our computer for this case. Commit every detail to memory. If Edward thinks it’s important or could be important, you read it.” Reid nodded but Hotch was interrupted.

 

“How to you expect him to remember everything?” Breda asked before he could stop himself. If the glare Hawkeye was given him was anything to go by, he might be in trouble.

 

“I have an eidetic memory. That means I can remember every detail of everything I’ve read, done or heard. You guys might know it as a photographic memory,” Reid told them. Al and Ed immediately sat up straight and looked at each other.

 

“Miss Sheska!” They said at the same time.

 

“Al, Fuery, head to Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ office and see if we can’t borrow Miss Sheska for a few days. Tell her and Brookes that I’ll pay for her to take some personal time if he can’t officially let her help,” Ed ordered and the two headed for the door before anyone could say anything.

 

“Good thinking, Sir,” Maria and Hawkeye praised at the same time. Everyone who wasn’t Amestrian was still looking confused.

 

“Miss Sheska is a friend of ours. She has a memory like Reid’s,” Ed explained. “If she can help, if might make things easier on Reid. He’d only have to memorise half the information and they can bounce the info off of each other,” Ed said, looking at all of the BAU agents.

 

“If she can help, we would welcome it,” Hotch told him before looking back at the group. “While Reid and Sheska do that, I want Morgan to get together with whoever on your team spends the most time around Mustang. Whoever has the most knowledge of every part of his life. We need to get start on the possibility of this being the result of a stalker with a grudge or someone with a very skewed idea of how to show their admiration,” Hotch said and Ed nodded.

 

“Captain Hawkeye, think you can deal with working with Morgan for a while?” Ed asked as Morgan huffed indignantly.

 

“I think I can manage that, Sir, along with my other duties,” she told him blandly.

 

“Thank you, Captain,” Hotch said. “Rossi and I will start investigating this as a politically motivated. Prentiss, I want your help with that. If we can, I’d like to speak to the Fuhrer,” Hotch seemed to be asking Hawkeye for permission.

 

“I’ll see what I can do. I’m sure he’ll be able to spare a few minutes time,” Hawkeye said reassuringly.

 

“I appreciate it,” Hotch told her. “JJ, I know there’s no media for you to liaise with but I was hoping you would be able to work with both teams and Lieutenant Ross.” JJ nodded. “Edward, I want you and your brother on the alchemy side of things. I don’t know what that would really entail but I assume you’ll keep us informed of your progress.” Ed sighed but nodded. Hotch and Hawkeye both gave him a look that had him raising his hands in a placating gesture.

 

“Of course, I will.” Hawkeye gave him a look that told him what would happen if he didn’t.

 

“As for everyone else; I know it’s not the most flattering or important of jobs but I’d appreciate at least one member of your team anytime someone needs to go somewhere, to interview someone or anything of the like,” Hotch said. “I don’t doubt Lieutenant Ross is good but even she cannot be in two places at once and like Edward said; we cannot afford to give the Generals any kind of ammunition to dismiss our findings,” Hotch said seriously.

 

“You got it, Hotch,” Ed told him as the door opened up to permit a breathless Alphonse and Fuery. “What happened?” Ed asked, immediately getting to his feet at the sight of his brother and friend.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes said he couldn’t authorise Miss Sheska to work with us at the same time she was employed under his command because it would be a conflict of interest,” Al said, holding his hand up when Ed went to say something. “However, he said that he couldn’t tell her what to do on her personal time. He told us that as long as he doesn’t see Miss Sheska working for us, he won’t have to tell the Generals,” Al told him excitedly. “Miss Sheska filed for a week’s leave, effective tomorrow morning,” Al announced and Ed whooped.

 

“Yes! I knew we could count on her,” he grinned excitedly. It finally felt like they had a solid plan and despite the fact that Ed preferred winging it, he knew this was the one case where he would follow someone else’s lead with no argument.

 

“When Sheska arrives, she and Reid can figure out between themselves who will be memorising what. Until then, I suggest everyone gets themselves familiarised as much as possible with the case. Get reading,” Hotch ordered. Alphonse and Fuery got themselves settled just as everyone grabbed a file before doing the same. After a few moments, there was no noise aside from the gentle flick of papers being turned or put aside.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 –**

As she had promised Ed last night when she’d left the office, Hawkeye was reporting for work at 6am that morning. She’d only gotten a few hours sleep the previous night, mainly because she hadn’t left the office until nearly midnight and she still had to take Black Hayate on his evening walk. When she walked into the office and spotted Ed and Al still pouring over the case files and whispering things to each other, she really wished she could have been surprised. A quick glance around the office told her that no one else was in the office yet though.

 

“Please tell me you haven’t been here all night, boys,” she said as she walked through the door. Ed and Al looked up at her entrance before going back to what they were working on.

 

“We grabbed a couple of hours each on the couches,” Ed mumbled around the pen in his mouth as he moved more papers. Al nodded as he did the same, grabbing one and showing Ed something. Ed looked and nodded at it, indicating for Ed to put it on a certain pile.

 

“Have you found anything, at least?” Hawkeye asked as she knelt next to them to see whether she could figure out what they were doing.

 

“Well, Al spoke to Mustang while I was in Resembool and he gave him some good tips for figuring out the difference between flame alchemy and a normal fire,” Ed told her and she nodded. She knew this as she had been the one to suggest Alphonse go talk to the flame alchemist. “Well, Al dug up a lot of Mustang’s case files where he’d been forced to use his alchemy to take someone out. He found some good starting points and was able to get enough information out of the pictures of the victims in comparison to the ones from Mustang’s cases that any jury would start having some doubts,” Ed explained, giving Al a small but proud smile.

 

“So, what are you doing now?” Hawkeye asked, looking between the two of them as Al took the opportunity to stretch.

 

“Well, Brother had this idea that maybe the person who’s framing Mustang is an alchemist of some description and _maybe_ they used their alchemy for some reason before they attacked,” Al told her as Ed nodded.

 

“So you’re looking for signs of other alchemy performed in the alley?” She asked and they both nodded.

 

“Yeah. See, with certain alchemies, you can sometimes tell roughly how old the transmutation is,” Ed told her. “It takes a long time to learn to be able to spot the signs but we can.” He gave her a reassuring smile, like he wasn’t sure she would have faith in them. “If there is any sign of alchemy having been performed recently in these alleys, we’ll see it. Brookes’ team were very thorough with their photographing of the scene,” Ed said as he passed Al more pictures for him to look at.

 

“That was a good idea, Ed. Good thinking,” she praised. Ed’s cheeks flushed slightly as he nodded at her compliment. Hawkeye got back to her feet and checked her desk. As she’d hoped, the day’s paperwork was there, waiting for her and Ed to work on it together. “Edward?” She called and he looked back at her. “The paperwork is here,” she told him and he nodded.

 

“Just give me a minute. I think I might have something here and I don’t want to lose it,” Ed told her and she nodded, allowing him the minute he asked for.

 

“Do see where I’m going with this, Al?” Ed asked, nudging his brother after the minute was up. He showed Al the various papers and pictures he had around himself. Al leaned over and started looking at them. Ed helpfully pointed some things to help Al make the connection without telling him.

 

“Oh! Good catch,” Al said once he figured it out. Ed grinned before clapping him on the back to keep chasing the idea and see where it led them.

 

Ed settled at the desk next to Hawkeye and she helpfully handed over the paperwork she had already sorted out for them. He tucked a leg up under himself and leant forward so he could start reading the papers in front of him and doing whatever he needed to. There was more paperwork today than there had been the previous day but Ed wasn’t surprised. Hawkeye had said that Grumman had sent most of the accumulated paperwork to other departments for them to do. Only the paperwork that absolutely needed Mustang’s – well, Ed’s now – signature or input had been sent by the Fuhrer for completion. Today, though, all of the paperwork Mustang would’ve gotten was sent.

* * *

Ed was so concentrated on the paperwork that he never heard the door open to permit Falman and Havoc. They grinned at the sight of Ed and Hawkeye working together before offering good mornings to everyone. Al and Hawkeye returned them but Ed muttered something before making a note on the paper he was reading then going back to reading it. Havoc shook his head fondly as he took a seat near Al and asked him if he needed any help. Falman just sat at his desk and picked up where he had left off the night previous.

 

Minutes after Havoc and Falman had entered the office, Bred and Fuery walked through the doors with the BAU following behind them. Ed and Hawkeye were still tackling the paperwork the office needed to get done while everyone else continued with their research or their own paperwork for the day. Ed frowned at a particular piece of paper before looking up to get Hawkeye’s help in explaining what he was supposed to do with it when he spotted the second group.

 

“Hey, guys. When’d you get in?” He asked. Havoc laughed while Falman shook his head slightly at him. “What?” Ed asked, frowning in confusion.

 

“Falman and I have been here for twenty minutes, Chief,” Havoc chortled as Ed flushed slightly.

 

“I was reading. Leave me alone,” Ed grumbled at him.

 

“We only just got here, Ed,” JJ told him and Ed gave her a small smile before scowling at Havoc when he continued chuckling. Ed raised his hands to clap but Hawkeye grabbed his arm.

 

“No,” she told him sternly.

 

“I wasn’t gonna do anything _too_ bad,” Ed whined but Hawkeye wasn’t moved and Ed sighed before lowering both of him arms. Havoc seemed to only realise just then how much danger he had been in as his giggles abruptly cut off and he was watching Ed with a touch of fear. Ed looked satisfied with that. “Were you guys alright last night?” Ed asked, knowing first hand that the dorms weren’t that great to sleep in.

 

“Yep,” Morgan told him.

 

“Awesome,” Ed smiled before Hawkeye cleared her throat pointedly and Ed gave her an apologetic grin before looking at the BAU again. “Are you guys right to do whatever you need to?” He asked.

 

“Yes. We just need to wait for Lieutenant Ross,” Hotch told him and Ed glanced at the clock.

 

“She should be here any minute. She said she’d be here by 7am. I think she planned on picking Miss Sheska up on her way in,” Ed told them. Sheska and Maria apparently didn’t live too far from one another so Maria had told Ed she would pick the mousey woman up since she didn’t have a vehicle of her own and she might raise questions if she was seen walking onto the base every day she was supposed to be on personal leave.

* * *

Reid and JJ settled next to Al to see what he was working on. A few minutes into the conversation had JJ bowing out when she couldn’t keep up anymore. Reid and Al barely noticed her leave to join back up with the rest of the BAU as they went over their plans for the day. Falman, Havoc and Breda joined in on their conversation since it would be likely that the three of them would be the ones to escort the BAU agents where they needed to go, alongside Lieutenant Ross.

 

Just then, there was a knock at the door that startled Ed out of his work once more. He called for them to enter and in walked Maria and Sheska. Maria nodded to everyone while Sheska kept back and to herself, a little unsure and shy. Before Ed could do anything, JJ stepped forward and gave the brunette woman a sunny smile and held out her hand.

 

“Hi, you must be Sheska. I’m Jennifer but everyone calls me JJ. It’s lovely to meet you,” JJ said as the other woman grasped her hand softly.

 

“It’s nice meeting you too,” Sheska said, returning JJ’s smile a little hesitantly. She had never been good at meeting new people.

 

“Can I introduce you to the rest of my team?” JJ asked as she let go of Sheska’s hand. Sheska nodded and JJ led her over to where the majority of the BAU had been standing. Maria had gone over to Al and Reid to see what they were up to and Ed had gone back to his paperwork once he was certain that Sheska would be alright. “This is Hotch, Morgan, Prentiss and Rossi. Reid is the one sitting on the ground with Alphonse,” JJ told her. Sheska gave everyone a small wave.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sheska. Thank you for agreeing to help us out,” Hotch said, offering his hand, which Sheska took.

 

“You’re welcome. I owe Ed and Al a lot so I’m happy to help them out,” Sheska told us.

 

“You don’t owe us anything, Miss Sheska,” Al piped up suddenly. “You got hired by Mr. Hughes because you were best suited for the job. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes knows that as well. We didn’t do anything to help with that,” Al told her kindly but sternly.

 

“I dunno what we’re arguing about but Al’s probably right,” Ed told them, not even looking up from the papers. Hawkeye was pointing and explaining whatever was on the page to Ed. Most of everyone else grinned at Ed’s trust in his brother. Sheska smiled at Al and didn’t try to argue since she was no stranger to the Elrics’ infamous strain of stubbornness.

 

“Now that Sheska and Lieutenant Ross are here, we should get to work. Morgan, you stay here until Captain Hawkeye is able to spare a few minutes to talk with you. After you’re finished with her, take Reid and one of Mustang’s team to visit the Brigadier-General and question him about the stalker angle,” Hotch ordered. Morgan and Reid nodded their compliance. “In the meantime, Reid, I’d like you and Sheska to sort through the files and decide who reads what. After that, memorise everything and compare notes. The rest of us will be relying on the two of you to be able to give us any relevant information and to hopefully find that tiny detail that will give us a real lead,” Hotch told them. Sheska paled slightly at the unintentional pressure his words had put on her but she snuck a glance at Reid, who looked calm, and Sheska told herself to stop being silly.

 

“Agent Hotchner,” Hawkeye spoke before Hotch could say whatever he had been about to, “I spoke to Fuhrer Grumman this morning before coming in. He has granted you a meeting at 8:30 this morning,” she told him.

 

“Thank you, Captain Hawkeye.” She nodded before turning back to her own work. “Since it’s nearly 8am now, Rossi, Prentiss, Lieutenant Ross and I will head to Fuhrer Grumman’s office and wait there for our meeting. Lieutenant Ross can fill us in on any protocol we need to follow,” Hotch said, looking at everyone. “JJ, would you stay here and help wherever you can? We’ll reconvene at lunch time to see what everyone has managed to find out.” JJ had nodded. Everyone else given their agreements with the plan to meet up at lunchtime. “Lieutenant Ross, if you wouldn’t mind taking the lead?” Hotch asked as he gestured to the door.

 

“Of course. If you’ll follow me?” She said before heading out the door. Hotch, Rossi and Prentiss swept out the door behind her, the door clicking softly shut behind them.

* * *

An hour after Hotch and the others had left saw the office reduced by Falman and Breda. Falman had slipped out to hunt down a lead he’d come across, listening to all of the rumours that had been milling around. Breda had ducked out on Hawkeye’s orders to find a specific Colonel who had left half the information needed out of his mission report. Breda had taken one looked at the annoyed expressions on both Edward and Hawkeye’s faces and high-tailed it out of this office. He did not want to add to their ire.

 

Morgan hated to admit it but he was growing bored. Normally they didn’t have time to slow down and wait for people to be able to cooperate with them. They’d almost always been able to interview whoever they needed, the moment they’d needed to. He watched as Captain Hawkeye gave Ed a small, honest smile when Edward had managed to get the rest of the paperwork Hawkeye had sorted for him done without needing Hawkeye to assist him at all. Morgan had managed to keep himself entertained enough by observing everyone left in the room.

 

Sheska and Reid were getting along like a house on fire once the brunette woman had managed to overcome her social anxiety and awkwardness. Al had helped with that since Sheska was already comfortable with him and he and Reid got along just as well. Reid had approached her a few minutes after Hotch and the others had left and asked if she had an idea of which parts of the case she wanted to memorise. She had been hesitant in asking if he would read the autopsy reports, afraid he would judge her for it but he had given her an understanding smile and told her he didn’t mind. So, they had split the work and had spent the rest of the time reading, exchanging the odd word here and there.

 

Al had continued working on what he and Ed had been since the rest of the two teams had left the previous night. Occasionally, Sheska or Reid would ask Al an alchemy related question that neither knew the answer to before concentrating on his own work once more. Al never seemed to mind the interruptions, always looking up with a soft smile and answering with a kind tone before looking back at his work. Morgan was surprised considering how Ed normally acted whenever he’d been interrupted back in New York or Washington D.C. unless the person interrupting had been Reid, Garcia or Abby. From what Morgan had observed so far, Al was different to Ed in nearly every way except for in smarts and how loyal he was to people who’d earned it.

 

JJ and Havoc had started working together, striking an easy friendship almost immediately. Fuery had been nervous to talk to any of the Americans, preferring to stick close to Breda, Havoc or Ed when he could but with one out of the office, one having been busy with paperwork and his only other option chatting with one of the Americans, Fuery had been nose down in his work the entire time. Havoc, at least to people who didn’t know him and/or weren’t currently observing him to keep boredom at bay, didn’t look overly worried about much but Morgan saw how often his gaze flicked over to Fuery whenever he’d leaned back in his chair or looked around like he was checking on everyone.

 

“Was that the last of it, Miss Riza?” Ed’s voice broke the silence and Morgan’s eyes snapped to Ed and Hawkeye.

 

From the stories Mustang and Ed had told them about Hawkeye – Mustang with fear and Ed with respect and amusement – Morgan had been expecting an overly strict, fearsome woman with no sense of humour who was entirely dedicated to her work and her commanding officer with not much room for anyone else but Morgan could see the soft look in Hawkeye’s gaze whenever Ed wasn’t looking and she didn’t think anyone else was either.

 

“Yes, Edward. That’s the last of it for today,” she told him.

 

“Awesome. Thanks for your help, Miss Riza.” Ed smiled at her as he got up from the desk, obviously heading for where his brother still sat on the floor.

 

“You’re welcome, Edward. I’ll admit it was nice to have it all finished this quickly and with no fuss,” Hawkeye told him, a small amused smile on her face as Ed grinned at her.

 

“I’ll try to keep it up until Mustang’s out. Show him how it’s done,” Ed smirked before stopping like he remembered something. “Morgan, aren’t you supposed to be talking with Miss Riza?” He asked, like he wasn’t actually sure that was the plan.

 

“Just waiting until she’s free to be able to talk with me,” Morgan told him, grinning at his confusion. Ed just glared him, evidently unamused with his amusement.

 

“I’m free now, if you wish to talk,” Hawkeye told him, stepping briskly around the side of her desk.

 

“You two can use Mustang’s office, if you want?” Ed suggested when Morgan looked around the room, a little pointedly.

 

“Sounds good to me,” Morgan said as he stood from his seat and stretched a little.

 

“Thank you, Ed,” Hawkeye said but Ed waved her thanks off.

 

“Don’t worry about it. Not like it’s actually my office,” Ed reminded her. Hawkeye didn’t say anything but she did look between Morgan and the inner office door pointedly. “She doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” Ed translated for him and Morgan made an ‘ah’ movement with his mouth before heading for the door. Hawkeye’s eyes glinted slightly with amusement before fading back to her usual mask of professionalism. Ed was back on the floor with Al, after saying a proper hello to Sheska, by the time the two of them managed to get into the office.

* * *

Hawkeye and Morgan took a couch each, Hawkeye sitting ram-rod straight while Morgan was a little more casual. Morgan had a notepad at the ready before he cleared his throat and looked up to meet Hawkeye’s cool gaze.

 

“So, what I’d like to know first is the kind of relationship you and Brigadier-General Mustang have. How did the two of you meet? Was it through the military?” Morgan asked, pen tip on the paper so he could start writing.

 

“No. My father was Brigadier-General Mustang’s alchemy teacher. My father devoted all of his time and attention to his alchemic research after my mother passed.” Morgan thought he heard the faintest bit of resentment in her tone. “The more he developed the alchemy, the more paranoid my father became. My father and I were not close, especially after the death of my mother, but the Brigadier-General and I developed a strong friendship.” Hawkeye told him. “When my father passed away, Brigadier-General Mustang divulged his plans to use the alchemy my father taught him to change the military from the inside. I applied to the military to assist Brigadier-General in achieving his goals,” Hawkeye told him. Morgan wrote everything down.

 

“So, you’ve been with him since the start of his military career?” Morgan asked but Hawkeye shook her head.

 

“No. I joined when he gained his State Alchemist title, before the Ishvalen Civil War,” Hawkeye told him.

 

“That was 15 years ago, correct? I think Edward said he was two when it started,” Morgan said when Hawkeye looked startled he knew when the war had started.

 

“Yes, the Ishvalen Civil War started roughly 15 years ago now,” Hawkeye said.

 

“Okay. Now, can you tell me about Mustang’s day-to-day routine since the time he and Edward first visited us?” Morgan asked.

 

“While he was a Colonel, Brigadier-General Mustang was supposed to report for duty by 7:30am every weekday.” Morgan did not miss the annoyed tone of her voice or the slightly emphasized ‘supposed’. “He would work on his paperwork for the day, with a 45-minute lunch break before finishing at 5:30pm, unless he needed to stay behind for some reason.” Her slight scowl suggested that was a common occurrence. “As a Colonel, Brigadier-General Mustang was known as being a ladies man. He very often had dates and quite a few of these turned troublesome. His weekends were normally spent in the office, playing catch up on any paperwork he had missed during the week before heading to any of the taverns or restaurants in town to enjoy a night out. There were days where he simply stayed at home, working on his own alchemic research or spent the day with Gracia and Elysia Hughes, and by extension, Edward himself. That extended to Alphonse as well, once he was out of the hospital. In the months in between Promised Day and your first meeting with Brigadier-General Mustang, his routine had been adapted to include a half hour visit to the hospital Alphonse had been admitted to for the duration of his recovery. Most times, the Brigadier-General visited in the mornings but some days those visits occurred in the afternoon,” she told him and Morgan nodded.

 

“Were there any major changes in his routine when he became a Brigadier-General?” Morgan asked.

 

“Yes. While his duties have increased in quantity, he also has many more meetings with various other military members. He now reports for work at 6:30am before finishing his day around 7pm, so long as he’s finished his day’s duties. Most nights lately, however, he has been finishing later, around 8 or 9pm. His nightly activities have decreased to him only going out for a drink or two sometimes after work, maybe two or three times every fortnight. He’s had to travel more often than usual since his promotion, though he is always escorted by myself and either Lieutenants Havoc or Falman,” she told him. Morgan frowned for a moment.

 

“When you were talking about his duties as a Colonel, you said that Mustang had had a few dates that turned troublesome. Will you tell me about those?” Morgan asked and Hawkeye sighed a little. “The ones you found most concerning?” Morgan clarified a little since he had a feeling Hawkeye’s little sigh had more to do with the fact that there were potentially a lot of stories rather than annoyance at his question.

 

“There have been a few who stand out more than the others. Most of them were simply women who were upset that the Brigadier-General hadn’t been interested in a serious or long-term relationship with them,” Hawkeye said as she sorted through the situations mentally. “There were really only four in recent years that I would classify as more concerning than the rest,” she told him and he nodded for her to continue. “The first one was nearly five years ago now, before Edward joined our team. Her name was Tanya Keener and she and the Brigadier-General had only been on two dates before she become exceptionally infatuated with him. It got to the point where her calls to the office outweighed legitimate calls on a daily basis. She had begun taking to waiting outside the front gates of the East City Base every day just so she could catch Brigadier-General Mustang as he left for the day. She learned quickly who was on his team and began trying to catch them to ask them to pass messages along. The moment Brigadier-General Mustang heard she had tried to corner Sergeant Fuery, he’d had her arrested for harassment and stalking,” she told him.

 

“Why didn’t Mustang have her arrested before it reached that point?” Morgan asked.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang had to wait until she had become a genuine threat so the arrest wouldn’t be taken as a Colonel using his military rank for something as petty as arresting a woman for being affectionate,” Hawkeye told him briskly.

 

“Okay. The others?” Morgan asked, pressing gently for more information.

 

“Seven months after Keener’s arrest, Brigadier-General Mustang was approached by a woman named Kylie Myall. They had flirted and Brigadier-General had invited her to join him for dinner later in the week, which she had readily accepted and suggested his favourite restaurant. She had not taken it well Brigadier-General Mustang had turned up to the arranged date and asked which General she would be reporting to after their dinner. He had been suspicious with how much she had known about his likes and dislikes and started investigating her and uncovered her connection to a General Barr. She had been hired by the General to try and get close enough to the Brigadier-General so they could try and find a weakness to use against him. She had not taken to being found out so quickly well and had tried to shoot Brigadier-General Mustang right there in the restaurant but he’d had the foresight to have me accompany him in secret and I was able to disarm her before she did anything too dangerous.” Morgan made some notes.

 

“Where’s General Barr now?” Morgan asked.

 

“He was one of those lost on Promised Day,” Hawkeye told him and Morgan sighed as he scratched the Generals name off his notes.

 

"Myall?" Morgan asked, fairly certain he knew what Hawkeye's response was going to be.

 

"Still in prison," she said, with a little pity when Morgan scratched her name off his list and gestured for her to continue. “The third one who stood out had been similar to Myall in the fact that she had been a spy but not for any of the higher ups, that we know of at least.” She paused before continuing. “She was the right-hand woman of a radical group who were believed that alchemy was a gift from their god and they believed that the Brigadier-General had stolen his power. He wasn’t the only alchemist they thought this of but he was the biggest threat, in their eyes anyway, and they’d spent weeks watching him. We’d known about it, obviously, but General Mustang continued dating her so we could try and find their base and deal with them. However, before we could, they did something we weren’t expecting,” Hawkeye told him. “It was a grave error on their part.” Morgan could’ve sworn he saw a flash of smug pride before it was gone again.

 

“Which would be?” Morgan asked, a little more curious for his own sake rather than the cases.

 

“They kidnapped Edward,” she told him, making a calming gesture when he blanched. “They’d ambushed the train he and Alphonse had been travelling on at the time and managed to take Edward while Alphonse had been busy trying to protect the other passengers. We’d barely been notified about Edward’s kidnapping when we got reports of explosions being heard in a small mountain near where the train had been passing through. When we got there, Ed was covered in dust, dirt and blood and exceptionally angry with dozens of unconscious and conscious people around him.” Hawkeye had a small smile on her face. “Edward had singlehandedly defeated the entire group when he’d heard their claims, got annoyed and decided to end their group so he could focus on other things. His rant at General Mustang is still considered something for the history books by those soldiers who'd joined us and weren't on our team,” Hawkeye told him, a glint of amusement in her eyes when she spotted Morgan’s grin.

 

“That sounds about right,” Morgan chuckled. “But you said all the radicals were captured? Did any of them escape or get released in the last few months?” He asked, hoping that this could be the lead they needed. If a radical group dedicated to their cause enough to kidnap someone like Ed, they might be able to pull something like framing Mustang off.

 

“Unfortunately, no. Everyone who was part of that group is still in jail for kidnapping a State Alchemist,” Hawkeye told him and it took Morgan a little bit of effort to not sigh.

 

“I guess it would’ve been too easy,” Morgan said, leaning back a little. “Who was the last one?” He asked, not overly hopeful this one would give them anything to go on.

 

“This one was only a month before Edward and Brigadier-General Mustang’s second adventure with your team,” Hawkeye informed him. “Her name was April Cutting. She’d gotten herself invited to a few events that Brigadier-General Mustang had attended and had tried to ask him on a date on a few occasions at these events. Eventually, Brigadier-General Mustang had taken her aside and told her he wasn’t interested in dating someone who was already in a relationship. She’d then turned around and told him he was mistaken. She wasn’t dating anyone. The man she had escorted to the events wasn’t her partner; he had just been the first man who’d agreed to take her to the events so she could talk to him. Brigadier-General Mustang had not been impressed and told her as much before walking away,” Hawkeye said. “Miss Cutting had not taken it well and managed to get an invitation to the next State Alchemists Dinner. She’d managed to avoid the Brigadier-General spotting her for most of the evening and it wasn’t until Edward had grabbed the drink Brigadier-General Mustang had been about to drink and told him that someone had slipped something in it before pointing her out that we realised she was even there. When we tested the drink, we discovered poison in it,” Hawkeye told him before letting a small sigh. “She’s still in prison for the attempted murder of a State Alchemist and General, before you ask.”

 

“Naturally,” Morgan couldn’t stop the sigh this time. “I think that we can probably rule out those who are already known for stalking Mustang. There _is_ the possibility that this stalker could be politically motivated, or at least hired by someone with a political motivation to have Mustang out of the picture but that’s up to Hotch, Rossi and Prentiss to figure out,” Morgan told her.

 

“So you are working with the theory that Brigadier-General Mustang has a stalker who perpetrated these crimes?” Hawkeye asked and Morgan nodded.

 

“Yes. Especially with what you’ve now told me,” Morgan said. “These crimes were all committed on days where Mustang was home by himself and hadn’t worked late that night. You said that he doesn’t have a set routine for when he decides to drop into a pub or tavern for a drink or two?” Mustang asked.

 

“Yes. Brigadier-General Mustang tends to only stop at The Amestrian or a select few other taverns on his way home from work if he’s had a long or trying day. Since his promotion, he’s had several days that could be considered trying but the days he decides to stop for a nightcap are chosen at random. Even I couldn’t predict with any accuracy what nights Brigadier-General Mustang would choose to indulge in a nightcap,” Hawkeye told him. Morgan nodded, like he knew that would be her answer.

 

“That alone tells me that whoever committed these crimes has been stalking Brigadier-General Mustang for a few months, at the very least. They’ve learned all of his habits, all of his enemies and have been watching him every night so they know what nights he will be home by himself. They have likely followed him home every night, watched his house and waited to see if he would be heading back out once more or have someone come over before finding a victim. They had to have watched him close enough to learn who they should kill to make it look like he did it. I doubt that if the victims had truly been random with no connection to Mustang, he wouldn’t have been seriously considered a suspect, despite the way they were killed,” Morgan told her and she dipped her head, as though conceding to his point.

 

“But what has made you rule out that this stalker is not motivated by admiration, attraction or revenge for Brigadier-General Mustang?” Hawkeye questioned. “You never said anything about how you would uncover if their motivation was something other than political,” she said when Morgan raised a questioning brow.

 

“Ah, sorry. No, I haven’t ruled out a revenge motive yet,” Morgan told her.

 

“But you have ruled out admiration and affection as the motives?” She asked and Morgan nodded. “May I ask why?” She looked intrigued as to how he’d managed that.

 

“If the killer was driven by romantic notions, I believe they would’ve reached out to Mustang by now. They would be seeking his reaction to the murders and would want his approval for their actions. They would be compelled to tell him what they’d done for him so they could receive the vindication for their actions they believe they deserve. The killer would need to tell Mustang so they could be given the positive attention they desire and think Mustang will give them. Since you’ve received no communication from them and no one has tried to come forward to claim responsibility for the crimes to save Mustang from jail, I don’t think the killer is romantically motivated,” Morgan told her. “It would be the same for admiration for the motive. You would have received correspondence asking if Mustang was impressed by his actions. Unless Mustang _has_ received letters and the like from people that have concerned you?” Morgan asked.

 

“There have been letters and notes, ranging from pitiful to concerning that Brigadier-General Mustang had received, both here in the office and at his own home but we’ve investigated every letter that Brigadier-General Mustang felt even the slightest amount of concern over but the majority of them had been sent and left by women who had been upset that the Brigadier-General hadn’t been interested in pursuing a relationship with them. Those that hadn’t been written by scorned women have been investigated thoroughly by us and dealt with. Since his promotion to Brigadier-General, I have only been made aware of a couple of letters,” Hawkeye told Morgan.

 

“Mustang would tell you every time he received a note or letter he found a little concerning?” Morgan asked.

 

“Yes. We have an agreement and he’s aware of what the consequences would be if he didn’t hand over a letter he found worrying for whatever reason and I found out about it later,” Hawkeye said and Morgan felt a morbid curiousity at what those consequences would be.

 

“I’m assuming those most recent notes and letters proved as worrisome as the rest of them?” Morgan asked and Hawkeye gave him a sharp nod. “Then I think admiration and affection can be ruled out as motives, if none of the notes amounted to anything.” Hawkeye looked a little confused.

 

“Shouldn’t we have received letters claiming responsibility or gloating over their plan succeeding, if the motive was revenge? I know Brigadier-General Mustang has definitely not received any such letters,” Hawkeye said and Morgan shook his head.

 

“In some cases, yes, you probably would’ve. If this killer were doing this solely to prove they were better than Mustang or more powerful or smarter than him than yes, you likely would have received letters or messages gloating after word got out that Mustang was being considered a suspect. The fact that you’ve received nothing tells me that either this is done by a hired assassin – which could indicate a political motive – and thus you wouldn’t have received any letters as the criminal wouldn’t have any need to lord his superiority of Mustang. He doesn’t care about the Brigadier-General as anything more than the reason he’s being paid,” Morgan explained. “The other option is that getting Mustang out of the picture is only _part_ of their motive. They haven’t finished what they’re doing and won’t risk being caught until their goal is achieved so they won’t reach out to gloat or whatnot,” Morgan told her and she nodded in understanding.

 

“Which do you believe?” She asked and Morgan gave her a half-smile.

 

“We don’t develop opinions until we’ve gathered as much evidence as possible,” Morgan told her and she looked a little surprised. “We noticed early on in our department’s infancy that if a police department believed someone was the person behind the crimes, they tended to make the facts fit their preconceived notions rather than allowing themselves to investigate where the case led them. So we developed the rule that we would get the bones of the case and do our own investigation, develop our own theories. This prevented us from committing the same mistakes as the police force and finding the person responsible,” Morgan explained and she gave a small, resigned sigh.

 

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that’s a common occurrence, no matter what world,” she said a little morosely before pulling herself back into her normal, professional self. “What else do you wish to know?” She asked Morgan.

 

“I know you’ve said that Mustang has had a lot of experience with stalkers. Aside from the ones like what you’ve told me, were there any others who stood out because they were dangerous enough for you to worry about it?” Morgan asked.

 

“There had been someone – an Eric Wallace – who had blamed the Brigadier-General for the death of his 10-year-old son. His son, Michael Wallace, had been killed on Promised Day, one of many casualties, due to the fighting and damage caused by the fighting. I believe his son had been killed by a piece of falling debris from a damaged building. Mr. Wallace wasn’t the only person who believed that Brigadier-General Mustang and the others should’ve been able to stop the fighting sooner. This had been soon after Promised Day, before Fuhrer Grumman had managed to compile evidence and proof to be released to the public as a show of faith that the military’s promise to be transparent would be kept. Mr. Wallace had been a marksman for the military before retiring when his son was born because his wife had died in childbirth. Mr. Wallace had decided that Brigadier-General Mustang should be held responsible and decided to take matters into his own hands,” Hawkeye was saying. “Edward had been with Brigadier-General Mustang at the time and noticed the glint Wallace’s rifle had made from the rooftop opposite the hospital. He managed to blow the gun up before a shot was fired. Wallace had been severely injured and ended up losing his hand due to the damage.” Morgan frowned.

 

“I don’t think someone with a missing limb would be able to pull this off. Unless he’s free and has a prosthetic?” Morgan asked but Hawkeye shook her head. “Anyone else?” He asked.

 

“The only other group or individual that gave us true cause for concern – and not just for Brigadier-General Mustang – were the homunculi,” she told him and Morgan’s brain automatically provided him with the information Edward had provided while in America.

 

“Those were the immortal beings whose life force was tied to a Philosopher’s Stone and were behind the Promised Day attack?” He asked and Hawkeye nodded.

 

“Yes. There were seven of them, not including Father or Hohenheim, Edward and Alphonse’s father. They were named after the seven deadly sins but the ones who we were most concerned about were Lust, Gluttony, Envy and Wrath. Greed had eventually joined our side, mainly thanks to his friendship – for lack of a better word – with Edward and a Xingese prince, Ling. Pride ended up revealing himself as Fuhrer King Bradley’s, also known as the homunculous Wrath, son but he wasn’t much of a threat until the end. Sloth had been kept busy, carving the underground tunnels that made the country-wide array until he finished at Fort Briggs where Lieutenant-General Olivier Armstrong and her team worked with Edward and Alphonse to defeat him. He survived only to be killed on Promised Day by Lieutenant-General Armstrong and her brother, Major Alex Louise Armstrong,” Hawkeye told him. “Because Brigadier-General Mustang, Alphonse and Edward were three of the five sacrifices for Promised Day, they were constantly followed by the homunculi to make sure nothing happened to them before Promised Day and causing Father to have to find someone else to fill their spot as a sacrifice. They were the only group we took as a serious threat but at the same time, we knew they wouldn’t kill any of them; not while they still needed them for their plans,” Hawkeye said almost mechanically.

 

“Would you say that Brigadier-General Mustang is so used to these kinds of threats that he no longer registers the feeling everyone instinctively gets when they’re being watched or has he grown extra-sensitive to it?” Morgan asked and for the first time, Hawkeye seemed to hesitate before she answered.

 

“I believe that the answer would be both, Agent Morgan,” she said finally. “Brigadier-General Mustang is a man who has a lot of people watching him at nearly all times of the day. He has grown accustomed to people casually watching him and he has grown accustomed to the scruitinising glares from those who consider him a threat to their positions on the military ladder. He has learned to ignore the feeling he used to get when people did that. He has, however, become a lot more sensitive to the feeling of being watched by someone who has truly malicious intentions towards his person. He has always informed me of whenever he has felt those kinds of gazes so that the team and I could be on alert for a threat. He has not made us aware of any kind of feeling like that since before Promised Day,” Hawkeye informed him.

 

“So, what you’re telling me is that if Mustang was being stalked, the person who did the stalking didn’t register as a malicious threat to Mustang?” Morgan pressed.

 

“Yes. It is possible that Brigadier-General Mustang had simply dismissed the feeling as another admirer or political enemy and paid no more attention to it,” Hawkeye told him.

 

“So, the stalker had to have been someone who Mustang considered would have dismissed as a non-serious threat,” Morgan stated more to himself than Hawkeye. “Would there be anyone who Mustang would automatically dismiss as non-threatening if he noticed them watching him?” He asked.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang has learned to not dismiss anyone outright if he felt them watching him more intently than he’s built an indifference too,” Hawkeye told him. “However, if the person who caused him to even notice them, he would remember since they could develop into a further problem,” Hawkeye divulged.

 

“Alright. I’ll ask him about whether he noticed anyone in the last six months that made him a little suspicious,” Morgan said, writing a small note to make sure he’d remember to do so.

 

“Was there anything else, Agent Morgan?” Hawkeye asked, a little impatient to check on the rest of her team to see if they’ve figured anything out yet.

 

“One more thing, Captain Hawkeye.” Morgan did look a little apologetic and she surmised she hadn’t kept her impatience out of her expression as she’d thought she’d done. She did gesture for him to continue. “You described Mustang as a ‘ladies man’. Can you be more specific in what way he is one?” Morgan asked.

 

“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand your question, Agent Morgan,” She told him.

 

“Would you describe him as looking more for one-night stands or as someone who was looking for the right person and just hadn’t found her yet?” Morgan asked. “How does he treat the women he interacts with in a romantic sense?” Hawkeye seemed to be contemplating her answer.

 

“For the majority of the women he dines with, they are the ladies who work for his aunt, Madame Christmas. She owns a bar here in Central and the women are her servers as well as women who can be hired as a bed companion or a date for the evening. Brigadier-General Mustang takes at least one of them out for dinner every week as a way to let them simply enjoy a night out without the expectations most of their clients have. They also serve as Brigadier-General Mustang’s informants. They tell him information they’ve gathered from their clients in exchange for a favour or gift,” Hawkeye told him and Morgan would be the first to admit that he hadn’t seen that one coming. “For the rest of the women, I believe he simply wished to enjoy their company for the evening but how much of their company he enjoyed was up to the women themselves. Despite the rumours you may hear during your investigation, Agent Morgan, Brigadier-General Mustang has always respected the women he works with, are friends with or spent the night with. No one has ever been pressured into something they didn’t want while in his company and he has always made sure his companion was not in a relationship at the time,” she told him quite sternly.

 

“Alright.” Morgan wrote a few final notes before flicking back through them to make sure there was nothing else he wanted clarification on. “I think that’s everything for now. Thank you, Captain Hawkeye, for allowing me to ask these questions,” he said as they both stood.

 

“I’d be willing to answer any further questions, should you require me too,” Hawkeye said as she offered her hand.

 

“I’d appreciate that,” Morgan said gratefully as he shook the offered hand. She gave him a small smile as he tucked away his notepad before they both headed for the door and left the inner office.

* * *

The walk to the Fuhrer’s office was spent with Lieutenant Ross glaring at any of the soldiers who they passed who looked too interested in the strangers while Hotch, Rossi and Prentiss pretended they didn’t see the staring. If they were being honest, they were fairly used to it though. Other than that, the walk was silent. Neither party spoke as they didn’t want to risk people overhearing Maria explaining this world to them or the BAU members asking questions they should know the answers to, if they were Amestrian.

 

When they arrived at the Fuhrer’s office, the three BAU members left everything up to Maria, more interested in watching her behaviour so they could learn to mimic it, should they ever have to interact with the other Amestrian without an escort for whatever reason.

 

“Good morning, Lieutenant Ross,” Samantha greeted as they walked in through the massive doors.

 

“Good morning, Samantha,” Maria greeted. “I apologise for our early arrival. Is it alright for us to wait out here until our appointment?” She asked.

 

“Of course, Lieutenant Ross. Please take a seat. His Excellency will be with you as soon as he is able,” Samantha said as she gestured to some of the comfortable couches lining the walls.

 

“Thank you, Samantha,” Maria bowed slightly before walking them over to some of the couches that would offer them enough privacy to talk about anything they needed to. Samantha picked up the phone to call the Fuhrer to let him know that Maria and the BAU members were outside, waiting for whenever he was free.

 

“Is there anything you believe we should know before we speak with the Fuhrer?” Hotch asked as they waited.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman isn’t quite as severe as some of our other Fuhrers when it comes to correct address. You may call him ‘Fuhrer’, ‘Fuhrer Grumman’, ‘Sir’ or ‘Your Excellency’. Be polite and respectful towards him but also be as thorough and quick with your questioning as possible. We have a limited about of time here today and it’s unlikely we could get another appointment within the next few days, should you need to ask more questions,” Maria told them. “If you wish, let me do the talking to start with and you can take your cues from me,” she offered and they relaxed minutely.

 

“We may take you up on that offer,” Rossi told her with a half-grin.

 

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Lieutenant Ross and Prentiss ended up sharing a seat while Hotch and Rossi took the one directly next to them and they waited patiently. At least until the three BAU members noticed Maria giving them a sideways glance every now and then.

 

“Lieutenant Ross, was there something you would like to ask us?” Hotch asked after a silent exchange between the three BAU members to see who would ask. Hotch had lost the exchange.

 

“I apologise.” Maria flushed slightly at the realisation she had been caught out. “I was just curious as to why the three of you were the ones out of your whole team who came to talk to Fuhrer Grumman,” she told them. All looked like they weren’t surprised with her curiousity.  

 

“Back in our world, I was a federal prosecutor before I joined the BAU. I understand on a better level than most what exactly the prosecutor looks for and how they operate. I have also worked alongside the military and have experience with the way they operate when they have a criminal case in the works,” Hotch told her. “Agent Rossi was a founding member of the BAU, the branch of the FBI we work for. He has the deepest understanding of the military out of the entire team as he worked for our country’s Marine Corps. Agent Rossi will be able to help us with the military side of things more so than the other members of the team.” Rossi nodded in agreement. “Agent Prentiss, on the other hand, will be our greatest political mind. Her mother is an ambassador for our country and she was raised learning all about our politics and the politics of other countries. She has an intimate understanding of the politics of the world and how they operate, both in the public’s eye and behind private doors. Her job here will be to take the information gathered from Fuhrer Grumman, yourself and Mustang’s team to see who would have the most to gain from Mustang’s imprisonment or who would be the person likeliest behind this kind of frame job. Which politician – or in this case, military higher-up – would have the motivation, opportunity and means to do this,” Hotch explained and Maria nodded, a little slowly, like she was trying to process what Hotch had told her.

 

“So, you’ll be thinking like the prosecutor for this case while Agent Rossi will use his military knowledge and his intimate knowledge of how your unit operates to work on this case while Agent Prentiss will use her political raising as her guideline to help with the case?” Maria asked.

 

“More or less, yes,” Hotch told her. There was silence for a few moments again. “May I ask you a question, Lieutenant Ross?” Hotch asked, a tiny amount of unsureness in his voice.

 

“Of course,” Maria nodded, giving her permission.

 

“When Edward was speaking with Fuhrer Grumman to get us permission to allow us to work this case, your name was the first Ed suggested. He told the Fuhrer that you would have a vested interest in seeing this case brought to justice. At first, I had assumed he meant because of the fact that your commanding officer’s sister was one the only surviving victim and that you’re a decent person who wants to see the right person put away for these crimes. Now I’m curious as to why you would be the first person Edward would pick. I’m sure there are plenty of other good military personnel that Edward trusts and who would want to see the real killer brought to justice which is why I’m more curious about why you were the first person he thought of,” Hotch finished speaking and waited patiently as Maria worked through her slight shock.

 

“I didn’t realise Edward chose me to be the liaison. I had assumed Fuhrer Grumman had been the one to recommend me,” Maria told them. “A few years ago, before Promised Day, myself and a fellow member of Major Armstrong’s unit were assigned to guard Edward as a serial killer targeting State Alchemists was on the loose. He had already gone after Edward at this point and he nearly killed him and Alphonse. If Brigadier-General Mustang and his team hadn’t turned up when they had, Edward would likely have been killed,” Maria divulged to them.

 

“This wouldn’t have happened to have been Scar, would it?” Prentiss asked, recalling Edward mentioning he had started writing to a redeemed serial killer while they were at NCIS in Washington D.C. and working the case there.

 

“Yes,” Maria nodded. “Major Armstrong had been the one to accompany Edward and Alphonse back home to Resembool so Edward could get his automail arm fixed. When they came back, Edward and Al decided to visit Central rather than head to East City, where Brigadier-General Mustang and his team were still based. They’d run into a doctor friend of Major Armstrong on their way to Resembool who had given them a clue about the Philosopher’s Stone and said there was information hidden in the First Branch Library. However, they arrived in Central only to find the library burned to ashes. Major Armstrong had been called back to Central but myself and Sergeant Denny Brosh had been assigned to watch Edward while the hunt for the serial killer was still going,” Maria explained. “We actually met Miss Sheska because she had been the one who’d read and remembered every letter of the hidden information and had written it all out for Edward and Alphonse so they could decipher it and learn what it said.”

 

“I was wondering how they’d crossed paths,” Prentiss said with quirked lips.

 

“Did Edward mention the lab accident, where he’d first encountered the homunculi?” Maria asked suddenly and the agents shook their heads. “Okay. Once Edward and Alphonse had discovered the main ingredient to a Philosopher’s Stone, they ordered Denny and I to not tell anyone until they’d had time to figure everything out. Unfortunately, Major Armstrong can be very persuasive and we told him. He and the boys spoke for a little while and they figured out that the Fifth Laboratory here in Central was likely to the only place where the military could still run their experiments on the stone without anyone finding out. The lab was in the perfect spot as well, right next to a state prison,” Maria told them.

 

“Because the main ingredient in a Philosopher’s Stone was human life and no one would question prisoners on death row being killed.” Hotch almost shuddered at the thought of someone doing something like that. Maria nodded.

 

“Exactly. Edward and Alphonse, despite orders telling them not to, snuck out that night and managed to get to the Fifth Laboratory so they could investigate. Alphonse stayed outside while Edward went in to investigate. He found what they thought they would find but he was attacked by a suit of armour with two souls bonded to it who had been a pair of brothers known as the ‘Slicer Brothers’, a pair of infamous criminals who were caught after they started killing.”  


“Wait, I’m sorry but did you say that someone _bonded_ a pair of human souls to a suit of armour?” Prentiss asked, horrified and confused.

 

“Yes. They used an array to do so. Didn’t Edward tell you about-?” Maria cut herself off when she noticed their blank looks. She got a serious look on her face. “It’s not my place to say anymore on that subject. But yes, someone bonded a set of serial killing brothers souls to a suit of armour and they attacked Edward. He won the fight but he was severely injured in the fact. He didn’t kill them and they had been about to tell him the secrets of the laboratory when two homunculi, Lust and Envy, walked in and destroyed the souls. Envy and Edward fought but Edward had lost a lot of blood and Envy was able to win the fight. The homunculi blew the laboratory up and brought Edward out to us so we could get him to a hospital,” Maria was saying. “Because of this event, Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes and Major Armstrong started their own investigation into the homunculi and the military. Edward has always blamed himself for this but while he and Alphonse were in Dublith visiting with their alchemy teacher, Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes was killed by the homunculous, Envy.” Maria’s voice turned sad.

“We didn’t know at the time that the homunculi all had a special ability. Lust could extend her fingers into daggers, Pride had shadows that could eat anyone that he could control, Envy was a shape-shifter. Envy shape-shifted into my form to confront the Lieutenant-Colonel before he could get word to Brigadier-General Mustang about what he’d found out. When the military received a tip that I was the person seen entering the area where Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes was found around the time the gunshot was heard, they came after me immediately. I was going to be put in front of a firing squad almost immediately, without a trial or anything,” she told them, keeping her emotions in check but she felt warmed at how horrified they looked.

 

“That’s awful,” Prentiss couldn’t help but say and Maria gave her a small smile.

 

“It was but under Fuhrer Grumman’s command, the military is a lot stricter about people getting fair trials, the way they were supposed to be done,” Maria told them. “As I was saying, I was in a jail cell and facing the firing squad when I was helped and escaped. Brigadier-General Mustang caught me and helped me escape but in doing so, he had to create a meat-mannequin and set it on fire in front of Edward. They smuggled me out of Amestris and to the ruins of Xerxes. I was there for a few days when Edward and Major Armstrong were brought out to the ruins to find out I was alive. The event did strain Edward and Brigadier-General Mustang’s relationship for a long time.” She sounded a little sad.

“But that’s why I think Edward would have chosen me. He knows I was nearly killed because the military didn’t bother investigating my case. They got a tip saying I was there and they nearly had me in front of a firing squad before Brigadier-General Mustang was able to orchestrate my escape. I don’t want to see anyone else ever go through that kind of disgusting display of abuse of power. I think Edward knows this and knows I won’t bow down to the Generals if they try to make me. He also knows I can be trusted to not say anything about where you come from. So, I think that’s why he asked for me,” Maria told them.

 

“Thank you for telling us, Lieutenant Ross,” Hotch said and she gave him a small but honest smile.

 

“Lieutenant Ross?” Samantha called as she approached them. Maria stood up immediately as she made her way over.

 

“Yes, Samantha?” Maria asked as the agents stood up behind her.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman is able to see you now. If you’ll follow me?” Samantha said before turning briskly on her heels and heading towards the set of inner doors. Maria moved immediately after her and the agents were quick to follow their military liaison. Samantha stopped at the doors and knocked before opening them once a voice inside gave them permission. “Your Excellency, Lieutenant Ross and three of the consultants here to see you,” Samantha announced.

 

“Thank you, Samantha. Let them through,” Grumman said as he looked at them from behind his desk. Samantha nodded before opening the door wider and stood aside while the agents and Maria moved passed her. Once the four were inside, Grumman nodded to her and she retreated, closing the door behind her. “Lieutenant Ross, Agents Hotchner, Rossi and Prentiss, what can I do for you today?” He asked, leaning back in his chair as he observed them.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman, thank you for agreeing to meet with us, Sir,” Maria said as she snapped a sharp salute that Grumman was quick to release her from. “Agents Hotchner, Rossi and Prentiss wish to speak to you about Brigadier-General Mustang, Sir,” Maria told him.

 

“I figured as much. Please, have a seat,” Grumman said, indicating to the three chairs in front of his desk. The agents, after looking at Maria who had then shaken her head, took the seats. Maria stood behind and in between Hotch and Prentiss. “What would you like to know?” Grumman asked, leaning forward slightly to show he was paying complete attention.

 

“One of our working theories is that there is a political motive behind Mustang being framed. We would like to know what other members of the high command would stand to gain with Mustang no longer in the picture, to start with,” Hotch asked and Grumman seemed to mull his answer over.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang is a very dedicated and loyal member of the military. He is very sure of what his goals are and he’s not afraid of what it may take for him to reach those goals. A lot of the higher-ups are nervous about what Brigadier-General Mustang’s goals could mean for themselves. Brigadier-General Mustang is young for someone with his rank and that makes some of the higher-ups feel threatened. There are Generals in the ranks – like Lieutenant-General Olivier Armstrong – who aren’t phased by Brigadier-General Mustang or what he has planned for his future and what that means for them personally or this military. There are, of course, a select few – like myself – who fully support Brigadier-General Mustang and his goals. With Brigadier-General Mustang out of the picture, as you say, a lot of the higher-ups wouldn’t have to worry about the threat he poses to them and their positions,” Grumman told him.

 

“Why would Mustang be a threat to their positions if they weren’t doing anything illegal or against military protocols?” Rossi asked and Grumman raised a pointed eye.

 

“While we have come a long way from the late Fuhrer King Bradley’s reign, it has only been roughly ten months since Promised Day. We could only arrest and punish those who had openly supported the Promised Day plans or the ones we were able to find proof that they’d supported the plans. There were plenty of lower ranked military members who had been promoted to fill the ranks that – in the spirit of being completely truthful – wouldn’t have been offered those promotions, if it could have been helped. Like Brigadier-General Aleyce Henley, the fourth confirmed victim. Had we have had the evidence that Brigadier-General Mustang and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric had gathered available to us at the time, she would not have been promoted and would have been arrested,” Grumman explained to them. “Technically speaking, none of the Generals may be doing anything illegal. It’s more the immoral deeds they may be doing or have done that they’re worried about. Under the late Fuhrer King Bradley’s reign, a lot of immoral and slightly illegal things were left alone. Some of the higher-ups are angry that my rule means stricter enforcement of military protocols and laws,” Grumman told them. “They also know that Brigadier-General Mustang would be one of the people I would trust completely to help me enforce those laws and rules.” Prentiss was the one currently taking notes though both Rossi and Hotch were jotting a few things down for themselves.

 

“Can you give us the names of some of those who might be more happy than others to see Mustang in jail?” Hotch asked and Grumman gave him an apologetic look.

 

“I apologise but no. I cannot accuse any member of this military of possibly being involved in setting up Brigadier-General Mustang without any further proof,” Grumman told them, a touch regrettably. “If somehow word managed to leave this office that I had given you names of people to investigate as maybe being the perpetrator or at least the brains behind framing Brigadier-General Mustang on nothing more than the fact that they don’t like him, I would have Generals yelling for my blood and my resignation on the basis of obvious favouritism and bias against the Generals who had been under the late Fuhrer King Bradley.” The three BAU agents weren’t surprised but they were a little disappointed, if they were being honest. Then there was a slight sparkle in Grumman’s eye. “You saw the way Generals Combes and Widdon acted when Lieutenant-Colonel Elric asked permission to allow you to work on Brigadier-General Mustang’s case. They would be even angrier if I gave names for you to investigate because those people happened to dislike Brigadier-General Mustang,” Grumman told them. Prentiss was quick to jot the names down.

 

“We understand, Fuhrer Grumman. Thank you anyway,” Hotch said before moving on. “Now, the next thing we wanted to ask about was the Ishvalen Civil War. We understand the second victim, Major Colin Pardi, was very vocal about how Brigadier-General Mustang and others should have been charged with war crimes for their actions in Ishval. We understand that you have pardoned their actions but there very well could be a reason for this amongst their actions. We would like to know what crimes he could have been accused of, to see if those reasons could be a possible motive,” Hotch explained, sitting a little straighter in his chair.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang could have been charged with attacking civilians and purposefully destroying their property and buildings. Of course, there were other soldiers who could have been charged with worse but Brigadier-General could have only been charged with those two crimes,” Grumman told them. “But when I issued pardons, the Ishvalen elders and other prominent Ishvalen citizens were asked whether they agreed to a particular person’s pardon. They then took the names to their people and held meetings so the remaining citizens could have their say. There had been several front-line fighters and even those behind the scenes who the Ishvalens could not forgive so they were arrested and tried in a court of law. Brigadier-General Mustang was someone who the vast majority of the Ishvalen citizens and the entirety of their elders and the prominent members agreed should be pardoned, alongside Captain Hawkeye and Major Alex Louise Armstrong. The civilians who didn’t immediately agree weren’t angry enough to start any problems when the pardon was issued,” Grumman informed him.

 

“So, there wasn’t anyone angry enough with the pardon to try to get their own revenge?” Rossi asked and Grumman shook his head.

 

“No, those who were angry to start with weren’t enraged enough to do something like this,” Grumman told them. “With our treaty with Ishval, we have an agreement that if one of our citizens is discovered to have a revenge plan against a citizen of the opposite country or the country itself, that country is to warn the one in danger. I know that Lieutenant-Colonel Elric is in regular correspondence with one of the prominent members of the Ishvalen council and he hasn’t mentioned anything to me about his friend telling him about a possible threat from an Ishvalen against Amestris or Brigadier-General Mustang,” Grumman told them.

 

“Okay. So, we can likely rule out the Ishvalen Civil War as a motive,” Prentiss said before looking over at Grumman. “What about the coup to defeat the late Fuhrer, Sir? Can you tell anything about that?” Prentiss asked.

 

“What would you like to know?” Grumman asked.

 

“How was he able to get so much information on the late Fuhrer and his inner group of Generals and other supporters?” Prentiss asked, pen poised on her paper.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang has very vast and intricate network of informants working for him in a base here in Central. Since Central is, well, Amestris’ central point, most trains stop over in Central station for the night. The base for Brigadier-General Mustang’s information network is a popular place for men, military men in particular, to visit. Brigadier-General Mustang’s aunt is a madame at a bar that happens to double as a brothel. His informants are the women who work for his aunt and they gathered their information from their dates for the evening or drunken bar patrons. They passed the information along to Brigadier-General Mustang whenever he took them out for dinner,” Grumman told them all. “No one ever clued in on the fact that Brigadier-General Mustang’s ‘dates’ never went home with him or that they always returned to the same bar after their night out with Brigadier-General Mustang.” Grumman paused for a moment to see if there were any questions yet. None were forthcoming so Grumman continued. “Because of this, no one ever expected his plans for the coup nor were they fully prepared for his resistance fighters. Despite his efforts, Brigadier-General Mustang, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and the other sacrifices had no clue about how devastating the plans for Promised Day were. We won but not without a lot of casualties. That is the reason why Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and Brigadier-General Mustang were so vocal and adamant that Brigadier-General Aleyce Henley and others like her should be punished within the full extent of our laws,” Grumman said, voice hard.

 

“How was Mustang able to sneak his resistance force into Central, Sir? Did he step on anyone’s toes to do so?” Rossi asked and Grumman seemed to consider his answer.

 

“I do not believe anyone’s toes were stood on when Brigadier-General Mustang gathered his resistance fighters. I know that Sergeant Fuery and Lieutenant Breda were injured and brought back from their postings to help. At the time, Lieutenant Havoc had been grievously injured in the fight against the homunculous, Lust, who Brigadier-General Mustang destroyed soon after but he was being used to pass along messages to potential allies. Lieutenant Falman had been stationed in Fort Briggs so he arrived to help with the Briggs soldiers and Lieutenant-General Armstrong. Captain Hawkeye had been kept here as the late Fuhrer Bradley’s aide while Brigadier-General Mustang continued his duties here in Central, using his information network to pass messages to others. I had a couple of my own trusted informants working to pass messages between myself and Brigadier-General Mustang, one of them being Captain Hawkeye’s best friend, Rebecca. Lieutenant Ross met her just before the battle for Amestris started,” Grumman told them and Prentiss turned to look at Maria questioningly.

 

“Yes, Rebecca and I commandeered an ice-cream truck and snuck weapons for our side into Central Command in the truck,” Maria told them before Grumman continued.

 

“I know that Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and his brother had been separated for some reason before the fight and both brothers had brought their own group of fighters but you would have to ask them themselves for more information,” Grumman told them. “As for your other question, no, I don’t believe Brigadier-General Mustang stood on any toes that he didn’t apologise for in the aftermath,” Grumman finished up.

 

“So it’s also unlikely to find a motive amongst those,” Hotch said, more to himself than the others. “There is one more thing I would like to ask you about, Fuhrer Grumman.” Hotch kept steady eye contact with the man until he nodded once, giving them silent permission to go ahead. “Are you grooming Mustang to take over your position as Fuhrer in the future, Sir?” Hotch asked. Grumman looked mildly surprised at the question.

 

“What makes you think I am, if you don’t mind me asking?” Grumman had to admit his curiousity was overriding near everything else.

 

“Merely the fact that you’re keeping Mustang under your wing, much like I believe you did when he was a Colonel in East City and under your command. You also said before that the Generals know that Mustang would be one of the few who you would trust to enforce all of the military’s protocols and laws as they should be. To me, that makes me think that you’re hoping to have Mustang assume command as Fuhrer in the future, Sir,” Hotch told him and Grumman looked mildly impressed.

 

“I won’t deny that I believe Brigadier-General Mustang would be a very suitable choice for Fuhrer, assuming his military career stays on track. I won’t deny that I’m hopeful that Brigadier-General Mustang will be in a position to assume command of the military as Fuhrer by the time I’m ready to retire. However, I do not believe I am grooming Brigadier-General Mustang, as such. I may be keeping an eye on him and offering advice but that is no more than what I do for various other members of the military. Brigadier-General Mustang wants to be able to prove that he would be suitable for the position of Fuhrer without any outside force making his goal easier to attain and that includes me offering more help, advice and whatnot than warranted,” Grumman told them. Rossi looked like he’d been expecting an answer similar to that. Hotch and Prentiss finished jotting down their notes.

 

“If you don’t mind my asking, Fuhrer Grumman, but why do _you_ believe Mustang to be innocent of these crimes as much as you do?” Prentiss asked and Grumman leaned back in his seat.

 

“I know Brigadier-General Mustang very well, considering the time we spent together while he was under my command in East City, and I firmly believe that he would never have committed these kinds of atrocious acts. He would never have used his alchemy against someone just because they didn’t like him or because they had been vocal about their displeasure with Brigadier-General Mustang’s pardon. He especially would not murder a woman he’d spent months investigating and was about to lay charges against. Not to mention that he would never have killed Major-General Bernard Andrews simply for his position. Andrews was a good person who Brigadier-General Mustang and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric got along with swimmingly. I believe that the fact that Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and Major-General Andrews got along as well as they did would have stopped Brigadier-General Mustang from eliminating Andrews, if he would have been capable of doing so in the first place,” Grumman told them before lifting a hand and rolling his wrist. “Then there’s the fact that these victims were burned to death. Brigadier-General Mustang is a smart man. If he did decide to eliminate those who had miniscule grudges against himself, he would not have used his fire alchemy because it would have been very obvious who committed the crimes. He may as well have left his name at the crime scenes which is what I believe the person who is behind these crimes wanted,” Grumman told them and all three agents nodded.

 

“That’s what we believe as well. We’re aware that Mustang is the only person who can use flame alchemy in Amestris and the fact that these victims were burned to death would have been our biggest clue that this might have been a set-up, if we didn’t already know Mustang personally,” Rossi told him.

 

“Good. I’m glad that we’re on the same page here,” Grumman said, sighing a little.

 

“Do you two have any more questions to ask?” Hotch looked at his team mates but both shook their heads. The three stood up. “Thank you for your time, Fuhrer Grumman. We appreciate the information you were able to provide us and we appreciate you giving us the time to ask, Sir,” Hotch said as Grumman stood.

 

“It was my pleasure, Agent Hotchner, Rossi and Prentiss. I’d be happy to answer anymore questions you may have. Just have Captain Hawkeye or Lieutenant Ross contact my secretary,” Grumman said before offering his hand to the agents, who took turns shaking it.

 

“Thank you, Sir. We will keep that in mind,” Hotch said.

 

“Good. Lieutenant Ross?” Grumman called, getting the black-haired woman’s attention.

 

“Yes, Sir?” She said, standing at perfect attention.

 

“Would you mind telling Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and reminding Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes that they are welcome to interrupt my day at any time if they find out anything new in the case?” Grumman asked.

 

“I will, Sir,” Maria said with a firm nod.

 

“Thank you, Lieutenant. Please see yourselves out,” Grumman said as he sat back in his chair.

 

“Thank you, Fuhrer Grumman, Sir,” Maria said before she snapped a salute that Grumman waved her out of. She led the agents to the door and they were soon closing it behind them, leaving Grumman to catch up on his paperwork before his next scheduled meeting.

 

“Thank you, Samantha,” Maria said as they walked past her desk. Samantha looked up and flicked her eyes over the four of them, like she was counting and making certain everyone had left the office.

 

“You’re welcome, Lieutenant Ross. Have a good day, Sirs, Ma’am,” Samantha offered with a dip of her head.

 

“You too, Ma’am,” Hotch said as the other two agents offered the same sentiment. Samantha nodded her thanks as the four of them made their way to the outer office doors.

* * *

 

 “What do you think now, if you don’t mind my asking?” Maria asked as they left the office.

 

“I’d like to talk with General Combes and Widdon as well as talk with the other members of the two teams but I have a feeling we can rule out political motives being behind Mustang’s false imprisonment,” Hotch said.

 

“I believe so as well. Judging from the one interaction we’ve had with the Generals in question and the stories we’ve heard from Mustang’s team and Edward, the Generals are far too desperate to try and keep Mustang in jail. I don’t believe they have anything to do with the actual crimes,” Prentiss said.

 

“Forgive my question but why? How does that suggest they weren’t behind the crimes?” Maria asked, turning her head slightly to catch Prentiss’ eyes.

 

“Because if they had been behind the murders, they would be content with allowing this case to go to trial without trying to shove it along so quickly. I think you may find that the Generals know that Mustang isn’t likely the real culprit here. They were scared when Ed asked Fuhrer Grumman to let us investigate because they were afraid we would find the real criminal and Mustang would be cleared. They know this is likely their one chance to be rid of Mustang for good and they’re so desperate to be rid of him, they’re willing to let the real killer walk free,” Prentiss explained. “If they were involved in the set up rather than just grasping the opportunity it presents them, they wouldn’t be as worried about our involvement as they are. I have a feeling that those two Generals in particular are the kind of person who believes their plans are 100% foolproof and would never fail. If that’s the case, they wouldn’t have been as against us as they were,” Prentiss told her and Maria looked mildly surprised.

 

“That is very interesting and I have the feeling that you would be correct in your assessment about them,” Maria told her before addressing the rest of them. “What’s next?” Hotch, Rossi and Prentiss seemed to have a silent conversation before turning to Maria.

 

“We would like to head back to the office and check in on everyone there,” Hotch said. “After that, I believe we should go and talk with Generals Combes and Widdon.”


	9. Chapter 9

Reid and Sheska had managed to figure out who would take each part of the case. Reid had originally thought that they’d maybe split the cases down the middle, with him taking three of the victims and Sheska handling the information on the other three but Sheska had unintentionally vetoed that idea when she had stammered her way through asking if he would read the autopsy reports. He’d told her it was fine and now Reid was reading the five autopsy reports while Sheska worked through the case files one by one. Whatever she hadn’t read by the time he was finished with the coroner’s reports, Reid had picked up and began scanning.

 

Reid noticed that Sheska, despite having a photographic memory like himself, didn’t read as quickly as he did so he consciously slowed his reading speed down enough to match hers so he wouldn’t accidentally read everything before she got the chance to. They spent the time reading in silence, only speaking up whenever they’d made an observation they’d wanted the other’s opinion on or to ask Alphonse a question related to alchemy that neither of them could answer. Sheska had meekly said that she’d read a lot of alchemy-related texts but she still didn’t understand alchemy. There was a difference between reading about something and actually using it. The understanding you got from real-world practice was a lot deeper than what you got from just reading it, after all.

 

Reid and Sheska had only deviated from their task when Morgan and Hawkeye had gone into the inner office so Morgan could ask her some questions, when they had left the office and when Lieutenant Breda had returned from his errand. Ed had gotten up and joined Hawkeye to hear the information that had been left out of the report before Ed had made sure he’d understood what the other soldier had been requesting from him and signing off on the report. He’d flashed Reid and Sheska a smile as he rejoined his brother on the floor. Reid noticed that Lieutenant Falman hadn’t come back yet but no one else looked worried about it so he decided to leave it as well.

 

Sheska and Reid had made it through all the information pertaining to Bryce, Pardi, Summers and Henley when there was a knock at the door. This had happened twice before now. The first one had simply been a Sergeant dropping off some reports that Edward needed to look at, which he did before signing it and making the soldier leave the office within two minutes of him arriving, and the second knock had merely been Major Alex Louise Armstrong turning up to pass along a message from his sister. Reid almost shuddered at the memory.

 

_“Enter,” Ed had called out, not even looking up from his work with Alphonse. The door had burst open, slamming off the wall and bouncing back, causing everyone in the office to jump and the BAU to jump, hands on their hips to reach for their weapons while everyone took up half-defensive stances when a massively built man had stomped into the room. “Major Armstrong. Nice to see you. Next time, could you maybe not give us all a heart attack?” Ed asked as he relaxed from his defensive half-crouch and resuming his spot next to his brother, who was also untensing from his own semi-defensive crouch._

_“My apologies, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Armstrong rumbled and Ed scowled him._

_“You can just keep calling me Edward, Major. You know that I don’t stand on all that stupid rank shit,” Ed told him. “And don’t worry about it. What’s up?” He asked, looking a little worried._

_“I merely wished to come by to congratulate you on your promotion, young Edward! I also came by at the behest of my oldest sister, Olivier!” Armstrong told him. “I will also admit that I had been curious about your friends and wished to meet the brave men and women I have heard so much about!” Armstrong grinned at them as his eyes fell on the three remaining BAU members._

_“Right. That’s Doctor Reid next to Miss Sheska. Agent Derek Morgan is the one annoying Havoc and Agent Jennifer Jareau is sitting next to Fuery.” Morgan had scowled at Ed for his introduction then at Reid for the young doctor for laughing at him scowling at Ed. “Guys, this is Miss Maria’s commanding officer, Major Alex Louise Armstrong, also known as the Strong-Arm Alchemist.” Ed waved a hand at the massive man, who had immediately started flexing for some unknown reason._

_“It is a pleasure to meet you! I am Major Alex Louise Armstrong!” He bellowed joyfully, causing the three agents to flinch at the noise level. Everyone else looked resigned._

_“You’re a State Alchemist?” Reid asked, having noticed the state alchemist title._

_“Indeed I am, young doctor! I am the renowned Strong-Arm Alchemist! Alchemy has been a trait passed down the Armstrong family for generations!” Armstrong boomed and reached to tear his shirt off but Hawkeye was quick to intervene._

_“Forgive me, Major, but I believe you said you had a message to pass on to Lieutenant-Colonel Elric from Lieutenant-General Armstrong?” Hawkeye asked smoothly, saving them all from the impromptu strip show._

_“Ah, yes, forgive me. I was just so excited to meet three of those young Edward holds in high regards,” Armstrong said, causing Ed to flush wildly. Al had to smother his giggles at his brother’s expense but he wasn’t subtle enough if the lightish punch to the younger Elric’s shoulder was anything to go by. “My dear sister wishes for me to let Lieutenant-Colonel Elric know that she is feeling much stronger since she woke up yesterday and would warmly welcome a visit from Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and his companions at any time,” Armstrong told them all with a dazzling smile._

_“She really said that?” Ed asked, disbelief dripping in his voice. The Ice Queen of the North had said she would ‘warmly welcome’ a visit from him?_

_“Not in those exact words but it’s what she meant,” Armstrong told him and Ed and Al shared a look. They had a pretty good idea of what she’d really said. “I didn’t see Lieutenant Ross this morning. I assume she reported for duty as planned this morning?” Armstrong asked and Ed nodded._

_“Yup. She’s with the three missing agents talking to Fuhrer Grumman at the moment,” Ed told him and he looked relieved._

_“That is wonderful news! I’m glad she is able to help with your investigation! Master Sergeant Brosh has expressed his desire to help you with your investigation, should you require an extra pair of reliable hands!” Reid was starting to believe that Major Armstrong only had the one volume for his voice and that was to make sure people a mile away could hear him._

_“That’s awesome. Can you thank him for us? If we need him, I’ll send for him,” Edward smiled gratefully._

_“Of course! My sister and I have expressed our desires to make sure the investigation uncovers the true mastermind behind these crimes, therefore I would also like to extend my help as well. Should you require the strength that has been passed down the Armstrong family for generations, simply ask for Alex Louise Armstrong!” Armstrong boomed, flexing once more._

_“Thanks, Major,” Ed said honestly, despite having twitched slightly at the volume._

_“Of course, young Edward.” Armstrong bowed slightly. “As much as I would like to stay here all day and help you with your endeavours right this moment, I do have prior engagements I must attend to,” Armstrong told them, a touch of regret in his voice._

_“We understand. Thank you, Major Armstrong. We’ll let you know if we require your help,” Hawkeye said with a soft smile._

_“Yeah, thanks, Armstrong,” Ed said, giving him his usual, blinding smile._

_“You’re most welcome, Captain Hawkeye, young Edward. It was a pleasure meeting you all. I hope we have the opportunity to get to know one another better before you must leave. I shall take my leave now. Good day,” Armstrong rumbled. A chorus of goodbyes had followed him as he turned and left the room, closing the door gently behind him._

_“He’s very,” JJ seemed to mull over her words, “intense, isn’t he?”_

_“You have no idea. Just be grateful Miss Riza stopped him before he stripped,” Ed had muttered as he leant back over his and Al’s work. The three BAU agents had given each other looks, asking silently if they thought Ed had been joking._

“Enter.” Ed’s voice had broken Reid out his memories and put his attention to the door once more. It opened to permit Lieutenant Ross and the three missing agents back into the office. “Oh, hey. All done with Grumman?” Ed asked as he watched them enter.

 

“Yes. He gave us some interesting answers and a couple of leads. We need to talk with Generals Combes and Widdon,” Hotch told him and Ed looked only slightly surprised but he looked over his shoulder to Hawkeye, who nodded and picked up her phone.

 

“Miss Riza will see if they’re available to talk with you today,” Ed told them. “I’ll go with you and Miss Maria when you speak with them. I don’t trust them to not try and pull something,” Ed scowled slightly.

 

“So you think it could be political?” Morgan asked and Hotch shook his head slightly.

 

“I don’t think so but we need to be certain. Prentiss is certain that these two Generals merely seized the opportunity Mustang being framed gave them to be rid of him,” Hotch told him and Morgan nodded.

 

“I think I’ve ruled out admiration or attraction as the motives as well. There haven’t been any letters or calls to gloat or ask for praise that would normally indicate those two reasons being the reason behind the killings,” Morgan told Hotch and the other two. JJ and Reid had been told his findings when he’d come out of the inner office.

 

“So, that leaves us with revenge,” Rossi said. “Assuming neither General gives us reason to believe otherwise,” He amended but none of the BAU agents looked like they thought that would happen.

 

“Thank you.” Hawkeye’s goodbye had them looking at her. “The Generals have graciously agreed to meet with you in 20 minutes in General Widdon’s office.” Hawkeye’s voice was level but there was a spark of annoyance in her eyes that told Ed that the Generals likely weren’t that gracious about it.

 

“We should head over there now. Morgan, are you gonna go interview Mustang now?” Ed asked and the dark-skinned man nodded. “Miss Riza, do you think you can go with him? You can give Mustang an update on what we’re doing and you’d remember stuff he’s probably forgotten,” Ed said, rolling his eyes as he climbed to his feet.

 

“Of course, Sir,” Hawkeye said.

 

“Hey, pretty boy, you coming with?” Morgan asked, causing Reid to scramble to his feet when Sheska said she’d be alright going over the files by herself for a while.

 

“Havoc, you’re in charge until Miss Riza gets back,” Ed told him and glared daggers when Havoc gave him a salute paired with a shit-eating grin.

* * *

Ed, Hotch, Rossi, Prentiss, Maria, Morgan, Hawkeye and Reid walked out the office and headed in the same direction for part of their journeys. Quite a few soldiers were out and about in the halls, thanks to the fact that it wasn’t quite lunchtime yet so they still had to work. Ed, Maria and Hawkeye were effective enough that no one did much more than offer a ‘good morning’ or ‘hello’ as they passed by. After a few minutes of walking, the two groups had to split with Hawkeye, Morgan and Reid continuing on their path while the others turned down another corridor to get to Widdon’s office but not before Hawkeye had wished them luck and giving Ed a look that had the blonde assure her that he knew what he was doing.

 

“Agent Rossi?” Maria asked, a touch hesitantly. Rossi made an acknowledging noise that gave Maria permission to ask her question. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is a Marine Corps?” Rossi seemed a little surprised with the question.

 

“The Marine Corps is a branch of our country’s Armed Forces. Including the Marine Corps, there are four branches of the Armed Forces. The Marine Corps works most closely with the Navy but we do perform expeditionary and amphibious operations with the other two branches, Army and Air Force,” Rossi explained but Ross still looked confused.

 

“Navy? Air Force? Army?” Maria asked and Rossi nodded.

 

“Your military is similar to our Army in most ways. Our Air Force defends our air spaces and undertakes missions where an airstrike may be necessary as well as numerous other things. The Navy protects our sea borders, ensuring no one is able to infiltrate our country from its waters,” Rossi explained. “Like I said, the Marine Corps operates most closely with the Navy but we run operations with the other branches as well,” he told her. She seemed blown away by the small description she’d gotten about the Air Force.

 

“What rank are you, if you don’t mind my asking?” Rossi gave her a nod that told her he didn’t mind.

 

“I rose to the rank of Sergeant Major before I retired from the Marine Corps and began my career in the FBI,” Rossi told her. “At the time of my retirement, it was understood that non-commissioned officers like myself would retire after serving their term as a Sergeant Major.” That information caused both Maria and Ed to look confused.

 

“Non-commissioned officer?” Maria asked. Ed shrugged when she looked at him for an answer.

 

“Yes. There were two ways for someone to join the Corps. The way I signed up was to walk into a recruitment centre and enlist that way. A non-commissioned officer starts from the bottom and must work their way up to Sergeant Major. If they wish to go further up the ranks, they must become a commissioned officer. They do this by completing a four-year degree and getting approval from Congress at which time, they’ll jump ranks to 2nd Lieutenant and will automatically outrank a Sergeant Major. If someone wishes to join the Corps without starting as a non-commissioned officer they can skip enlisting and go straight to earning the four-year degree and get themselves approved by Congress and start their career with the Marine Corps with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant,” Rossi explained to them.

 

“So, a State Alchemist is similar in a way to a commissioned officer?” Maria asked. Now it was Rossi’s turn to look confused.

 

“How so?” Rossi asked.

 

“You’re granted the rank of ‘Major’ if you’re approved as a State Alchemist,” Maria told him and Ed nodded in agreement with what Maria was saying.

 

“So, you were a Major when you were 12?” Rossi asked Ed.

 

“Yup. Irritated a lot of people when they found out a 12-year-old could order them around. Probably helped me more when those same people realised I didn’t care about my rank and didn’t believe in ordering people around unless I had no other choice,” Ed shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly. “I was far more concerned with using the military to reach my goals than I was about using the military to climb the military ladder. I’m sure a couple of my missions probably would’ve been cause for a promotion but it was never offered because the homunculi knew it wouldn’t be necessary to keep me in the military by promoting me and I would’ve told them to fuck off anyway,” Ed told them before the agents could ask.

 

“How come you accepted the promotion now?” Prentiss asked.

 

“Needed to. If I got promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, Brookes and I would be equals. Because Brookes and I actually respect each other, something the Generals know, they could have pressured Brookes into having me stand down. It wouldn’t have worked because of the clause in my contract but Miss Riza pointed out that I likely would’ve done as Brookes asked if I found out the Generals were threatening him. I would’ve done as he asked before going after the Generals myself but we would’ve lost time while I did so. My being the same rank as Brookes ensures the Generals won’t try to use him to stop me,” Ed told them just as they got to the outer office door to Widdon’s office.

 

The General’s office was set up the same way as all other offices. There was a large outer office that contained their team and acted as the waiting room for those who needed to wait for the General while he was doing whatever in his inner office. Unlike Mustang’s office, the Hawkeye of General Widdon’s team was a civilian like Sheska. She looked up when they entered the room after a polite knock before scurrying to the inner office doors, knocking rapidly and slipping inside when permitted. Ed and Maria exchanged a glance while the BAU watched the only two members of General Widdon’s team that were in the office at the time. No one said anything and the BAU members mimicked Maria’s neutral mask rather than Ed’s bored one.

 

After a couple of minutes, the inner office doors opened once more and the pretty, blonde secretary stepped out. “General Widdon and General Combes will see you now,” she told them. Maria and Ed immediately started forward with the BAU falling in step behind them. The secretary opened the door and stood to the side so they could move past her with ease.

 

“Thank you, Miss,” Ed said, giving her a quick smile as he walked into the office. Her head jerked up a little in surprise, like she’d never been acknowledged by someone walking into the General’s office. She gave him a small, tentative smile back before shutting the door when Prentiss had made her way through, shutting the small group in with the two Generals.

 

“Generals,” Maria greeted after a couple of moments when no one else said anything, snapping a salute, her face impassive. The two Generals made her wait a few seconds before releasing her from the salute.

 

“Let’s get this over with. We’re very busy and don’t have the time to waste on something as useless as this,” Widdon said snootily. Edward scoffed in disbelief but managed to make it sound very poorly like a cough.

 

“Of course, General. We wouldn’t want to keep you from your busy schedule any more than necessary,” Maria said passively. “As you may remember from yesterday, these are some of the defence’s consultants. Mr Hotchner, Mr Rossi and Miss Prentiss wish to ask you a few questions regarding Brigadier-General Mustang’s arrest and the crimes he’s been accused of.” Combes scoffed quietly when Prentiss was introduced and Ed’s golden eyes flicked right over to him, darting to take in the General’s expression before Ed seemed to nod once to himself, like he’d just been proven right about something. Widdon noticed.

 

“Something you’d like to share, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric?” He asked snidely.

 

“Just had suspicion confirmed, that’s all,” Ed told him dismissively, going right back to ignoring them, draping himself in one of their chairs. Combes’ mouth twitched as he held himself back from snarling at Ed’s actions.

 

“And what would that have been, Lieutenant-Colonel?” Ed almost quirked a brow at the way Widdon kept saying his rank as though it was a derogatory term.

 

“That Combes is a sexist prick.” Ed shrugged. “You probably are as well but you’re better at hiding it which is actually hilarious considering you have people like Lieutenant-General Armstrong above you in rank,” Ed told them and watched in fascination as their faces seemed to pale a little at some memory. Ed kinda really wanted to know now what actually happened during Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s interview. Maybe he could be sneaky and ask Brookes? He had a feeling his fellow Lieutenant-Colonel would probably tell him if he asked. Ed clapped his hands together and he felt a tiny amount of amusement at the minute flinching of both Generals before he looked at the BAU. “You lot gonna ask your questions?” Ed winked at Prentiss when she gave him a half-amused, half-scolding look.

 

“General Widdon, General Combes, thank you for agreeing to talk with us. We’re sure you’re very busy men –“

 

“Unlikely,” Ed muttered.

 

“-so we won’t keep you longer than necessary.” Hotch continued smoothly as though Ed hadn’t interrupted. The look on the Generals’ faces certainly said they had noticed the interruption and weren’t happy about it. “Firstly, would you please tell us what kind of relationship you have with Mustang? Did you ever serve under or with him?” Hotch asked and Combes scoffed at the mention of him having served under Mustang.

 

“We’ve had the pleasure,” Widdon didn’t sound like he actually thought that, “of working with the former Brigadier-General on a few occasions.” Combes looked about as thrilled at the memories as Widdon sounded.

 

“Your thoughts of Mustang?” Hotch asked as Prentiss got ready to take notes. The way Combes and Widdon looked at her told Ed that the Generals thought that note-taking was the only reason Prentiss was there.

 

“I thought he was a pompous arsehole who had let the fact that he happens to know a rare alchemy go to his head and boost his ego,” Widdon said with a sniff.

 

“You’ve got intimate experience with that,” Ed snarked where he sat. Combes looked like he wanted to say something but managed to hold himself in check after a small shake of Widdon’s head.

 

“Was this when he was a Colonel or after his promotion?” Hotch asked while Rossi kept glancing at Ed and Prentiss continued taking notes.

 

“He was a Colonel still when we first worked directly together,” Widdon told them.

 

“Why did you have to work together?” Hotch asked.

 

“The late Fuhrer Bradley believed that my team and the former Brigadier-General’s team would work well together to put a stop to a weapons smuggling ring,” Widdon told them haughtily. “I believe this was after the Tucker incident.” Rossi noticed the flash of pain on Ed’s face before it was gone. “The former Brigadier-General had acted as though he was in charge of the case since there was a rumour that the shot-caller was an alchemist.” Ed gave a fake horrified gasp.

 

“You mean the man in charge of the team who practically specialises in rogue alchemists figured his experience meant he should’ve had a fair amount of input in the planning? The horror. How did you survive?” Ed asked, his sarcasm levels near lethal. Rossi’s eyes narrowed a little at Ed’s words.

 

“I don’t recall you being there, Lieutenant-Colonel, so I don’t see how your input is relevant,” Widdon said scathingly.

 

“I vaguely recall being to busy recovering from nearly being killed in the Fifth Laboratory sometime around that time. You know, the lab where our illustrious homunculous Fuhrer had been running illegal experimentations,” Ed told them just as scathingly. “After that, I was too busy uncovering the plot to destroy our country but, hey, getting pissy at a Colonel for using his experience to take the lead in taking out an alchemist illegally smuggling weapons was just as important and we can all understand why you’re so cranky about it,” Ed told them, voice mocking. Maria looked like she was ready to put herself bodily between the Generals and Ed. “If it makes you feel better about yourselves, Mustang thought you were a pair of dicks too,” Ed told them and Rossi finally figured out what Ed had been trying to do.

 

“Edward?” Rossi asked before Combes could launch himself at the blonde and get his arse handed back to him by the teenager.

 

“Yo,” Ed said, leaning over the armrest of the chair he was draped over so he could make eye contact with Rossi.

 

“Would you mind stepping outside with Hotch and Lieutenant Ross?” Hotch looked more surprised than Ed did with the request while Maria looked uncertain about the order. Ed, however, grinned.

 

“Sure, but Lieutenant Ross is staying. I don’t trust those two to not turn around and claim you did something you didn’t,” Ed told him, rolling out of the chair, straightening his jacket while Combes and Widdon glared daggers ineffectively at him. Maria looked relieved, which made sense since her job was making sure that didn’t happen because she wasn’t in the room.

 

“Okay,” Rossi agreed easily. Ed tugged on Hotch’s sleeve to make him follow and the older man did so, his expression already smoothed back into his usual mask as he followed the blonde out of the office. Ed made sure to slam the door a little harder than necessary. 

* * *

 

Ed barely made it out of the office before he couldn’t muffle his giggles anymore. Hotch looked torn between amused and confused and he wasn’t a man who liked being confused by things, Garcia being the only exception. No one would ever understand Penelope Garcia.

 

“What’s so funny, Ed?” Hotch asked as they leant against the wall opposite the outer office doors so they could watch the doors as they waited for the others.

 

They had startled the blonde secretary and the one soldier still in the office – the other having left for some reason – when they’d emerged. Ed had assured her everything was alright and that the three other members of their group were still conducting the interview. The blonde secretary had nodded, still unsure, but evidently ended up believing Ed since she couldn’t hear any screaming and had sat back in her chair. The other soldier had watched them with eagle eyes as they left the outer office and once the doors had closed, that’s when Ed had started giggling.

 

“They were getting so mad!” Ed giggled as he straightened. “I almost wish Rossi had given me more time to annoy them before he tossed us out but they might have actually tried to kill me,” Ed sighed wistfully before catching Hotch’s flat expression. “What?” He asked, confused as to why he was getting that reaction.

 

“Why exactly were we asked to leave?” Hotch asked, having figured that from Ed’s reaction that he had at least an idea of why they were waiting outside.

 

“So Rossi could try and sympathise with them,” Ed told him. “I got the idea when Rossi was explaining the difference between commissioned and non-commissioned officers in the Marine Corps. I figured that if Rossi caught on and asked me to leave then explain that he has experience having to deal with younger, less experienced soldiers who were higher ranked than him because of a special reason, he might be able to gain an in with the Generals. Of course, it could go the complete opposite and the Generals might be even bigger dicks because I listened to Rossi without fighting and they can barely say two words without getting attitude from me.” Ed shrugged.

 

“So why was I sent out with you?” Hotch asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“I dunno,” Ed told him, looking completely unconcerned. Hotch seemed confused still but decided he’d just ask Dave when he left the General’s office. 

* * *

 

Rossi watched the two Generals as they watched Hotch and Edward leave Widdon’s office and he had to hold back his disgust at the open sneer on Combes’ face and disdain in Widdon’s eyes. He would have literally had to be blind to miss the amount of scorn they felt towards Ed and it really was no surprise the blonde held the two Generals in the same regard. Rossi had discovered early on that the young alchemist had a refreshing quality to him where he would treat someone with the level of respect he had been given by them.

 

“Shall we continue?” Rossi asked, startling the Generals from their staring, once the older agent had heard the inner office door shut. He hid the smirk he felt playing on his lips when he heard the door just barely cross the threshold into being slammed.

 

“What else do you need to ask us?” Widdon asked, a touch impatiently.

 

“You were telling us that you felt that Mustang had shown impertinence because he didn’t bow to your experience immediately. Something I am curious about is why you felt that Mustang should have done so? From what I’ve heard and seen from Edward and Mustang, their main jobs in the military are hunting down and arresting criminal alchemists. If the person at the head of the smuggling ring was a rogue alchemist, why wouldn’t you have allowed the person with the most experience dealing with that kind of criminal take point?” Rossi asked. He kept his gaze calm and unintimidated when General Combes glared at him while Widdon seemed to be assessing him more than glaring at him.

 

“Mustang may have had more experience tracking and catching rogue alchemists but he did not – and still doesn’t – have the same amount of experience in total as we do in the military. We allowed him to have an input on taking down the leader but his inexperience dealing with every other aspect of the case would have cost us the arrest. We could not risk someone without the appropriate level of knowledge and overall experience take the lead merely because he and the leader of the smuggling ring happened to be alchemists,” Widdon told them. Prentiss snuck a side-eyed look at Rossi, her long, black hair acting as a curtain to protect her eye-roll from the Generals.

 

“You believe Mustang isn’t as capable as the two of you because he has had less time serving in the military than yourselves, despite the fact that he now holds the rank of Brigadier-General?” Rossi asked and this time, Widdon couldn’t hold back his sneer like he had when Ed had left.

 

“He had only managed to gain that rank as quickly as he did because he managed to become a State Alchemist and started his career with the rank of Major rather than starting out as an enlisted man like the rest of us,” Widdon told him haughtily.

 

“I understand your irritation.” Rossi made sure to look like he was holding back a sympathetic look. “The country I’m from has a military with two similar ways for those who wish to enlist and serve their country. I started from the bottom of the ladder and had superiors who were the same age or younger than me because they happened to have something the military held in high regards. I didn’t think it was very fair that I reached the highest rank I could before I discharged and had superiors who were decades younger than me.” Combes and Widdon had a suspicious look on their faces as he spoke but Rossi made sure his face stayed open and honest. By the end of what he said, he knew that he’d succeeded in making them see he him as someone they were able to relate to more so than the others.

 

“I’m glad to hear that someone in your group is approaching this case with an open mind rather than some desperate attempt to try and free a guilty man,” Combes told them, lips curling unpleasantly when he mentioned Mustang. Rossi and Prentiss were able to keep their faces neutral.

 

“May I ask why you are so certain that Mustang isn’t being set up? I wouldn’t have believed him to be the kind of person to rid himself of people with minor problems with him in such a violent and obvious manner,” Rossi said and Combes scoffed.

 

“Mustang believed himself too smart to be caught. He knows as well as any other high-ranking officer that even insignificant enemies can turn into larger problems if not kept in check. I believe that Mustang was counting on his rank and Fuhrer Grumman’s obvious soft spot he has for him to protect him from any sort of prosecution,” Combes told them as though it was obvious.

 

“What makes you think Fuhrer Grumman has a soft spot for Mustang?” Rossi asked as Prentiss’ pen scrawled across the pages of her notebook.

 

“Because he was under Fuhrer Grumman’s command while based in East City and because Fuhrer Grumman’s granddaughter is Mustang’s Captain,” Widdon told them and Rossi and Prentiss were only just able to keep the surprise off their faces at the mention of Hawkeye’s relation to the Fuhrer.

 

“I see. Do you believe that if Mustang hadn’t been arrested, that it’s possible he could have ended up as Fuhrer one day? Were you worried about what that might mean for Amestris?” Rossi asked and he could see the shocked look on Prentiss’ face, once again shielded by her hair from the Generals.

 

“Mustang would never have been allowed to rise to the rank of Fuhrer. Amestris has never had an alchemist in charge of her military for a reason. Alchemists are too powerful. They would destroy the country if one was in charge. So, no. I don’t believe Mustang would have ever made it to Fuhrer. Amestris would never have let him.” Widdon was the one to tell them this but they could see that Combes completely agreed with him but the most interesting thing was the flicker of fear Rossi had spotted when they’d thought of an alchemist as Fuhrer. It had only been a momentary glimmer of fear but it had been there and Rossi knew that Prentiss had seen it as well.

 

“So the two of you are completely convinced that Mustang is 100% behind these attacks and murders?” Rossi asked and both of them nodded with conviction. “Okay. Prentiss, any questions?” Rossi asked, startling the two Generals a little by asking the woman next to him if she wanted to ask anything. Rossi could see that Ed wasn’t wrong about the two of them but he knew he shouldn’t be surprised. The blonde was, after all, rarely wrong.

 

“Just one,” Prentiss said, levelling the Generals with a pleasant yet sharp smile. “What would the two of you personally gain from Mustang being jailed, should he be convicted?” She asked and the effect was immediate. Widdon’s face went immediately neutral whereas Combes had started turning red and he looked two moments away from exploding.

 

“We would simply gain the ability to be able to say that we rid the Generals, and the military as a whole, of someone who was unstable and unfit for his rank and kept the public safe from a dangerous criminal,” Widdon told them. Prentiss couldn’t help but be reminded of the teenage persons of interest they’d interviewed over the years who were giving them the answer they thought would make them look selfless while also try to make the agents not think of them as suspects. Prentiss made sure the disbelief was openly yet subtly on her face while she held the Generals’ gazes.

 

“Okay. That’s all I needed to know,” Prentiss told Rossi and they both shifted slightly backwards towards the doors.

 

“Thank you for your time, Generals. I’m sure you have plenty to do so we’ll leave you to it. Have a nice day,” Rossi said as Maria moved to the inner office doors and opened them for the agents. The Generals never said anything, merely offering a nod of their heads as the agents left.

 

Maria offered a salute and her own goodbye, as required of someone of her rank when she was leaving a General’s office. The Generals had her hold the salute for five seconds before dismissing her with an uninterested wave. Maria made sure to keep her face blank as she nodded to the secretary and the other soldier in the office before following Rossi and Prentiss out of the outer office doors and reuniting with Ed and Hotch.

 

“So, it went that good huh?” Ed asked as soon as he spotted her face, honest sympathy written on his own.

 

“I would rather be your bodyguard again than sit through what I just did again,” she told him drily, causing Ed to cackle in delight.

 

“Oh, wow. I didn’t think anything could trump being worse than trying to guard us,” Ed grinned once he’d stopped laughing. “Come on, you can tell me what they said while we head back to the office. It’s nearly lunchtime,” Ed said, gesturing for them to start moving.

 

Maria had been the one to fill Ed in on what Rossi and the Generals had talked about while Rossi and Prentiss reported back to Hotch. Ed had rolled his eyes when he heard about the Generals claims that Mustang should have been have let them take the lead on that smuggling case because the Generals felt their numerous years in the military trumped the fact that Mustang had more experience catching criminal alchemists than the two of them in total. Ed had smirked when he heard about Rossi’s sympathy play.

 

“So, do you guys think politics could still be the motive behind this?” Ed asked as they put more distance between themselves and General Widdon’s office.

 

“Honestly?” Prentiss said. “I would be surprised if we found the killer and their motive was politically related,” she admitted. Both Rossi and Hotch nodded in agreement.

 

“Morgan didn’t really tell us much about what he and Miss Riza spoke about. Said he wanted to talk to Mustang first,” Ed grumbled petulantly as they turned a corner that caused Ed to literally bump into Morgan, who managed to grab his flesh arm to stop him from toppling over, as Hawkeye and Reid drew level with them. “Oh, hey. How’d you guys go?” Ed asked as Morgan released him after checking he was alright. Ed had levelled him with a flat look that had Morgan back away with raised hands and a smirk on his face.

 

“Good. We got a few more answers to a couple of the questions Captain Hawkeye had already answered for me that may help further down the line,” Morgan told him.

 

“Sweet. Mustang hasn’t been driven crazy yet? Has he started asking for paperwork?” Ed asked, the grin that had started to form at the thought fell when Hawkeye shook her head. “We’ll get him to before he’s released and you can use it against him forever,” Ed promised, completely straight-faced and almost selling the serious expression, if it hadn’t been for the glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

 

‘I’d certainly not be averse to that,” Hawkeye told him. “I am, however, going on record to say that I am not encouraging it either,” she told him and Ed nodded before grinning sharply, mind already forming, dismissing and filing potential ideas.

 

“So, what are we doing next?” Reid asked before Ed could get too lost in his thoughts.

 

“Ah, well, Hotch said he wanted to get together at lunch with everyone and discuss what you lot figured out, right?” Ed looked at Hotch, who nodded, so Ed continued. “So, we’ll do that. I’m hoping someone thought to go get lunch while we were gone so we don’t have to wait for food. After that, it depends where you guys think you should go next,” Ed told them decidedly.

 

“Speaking of things to discuss,” Rossi said as he remembered something he’d thought of while in General Widdon’s office, “have the Generals’ searched Mustang’s home yet?” Rossi asked and watched in amusement as Ed struggled and failed to keep his own amusement off his face.

 

“Unfortunately for the Generals, they are unable to execute a search warrant on Brigadier-General Mustang’s residence unless both I and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric are available to accompany them and watch them at all times. Fuhrer Grumman has acknowledged that Brigadier-General Mustang has sensitive research texts and tools related to his alchemy and that it could mean a nation-wide disaster on the scale of the Liorian or Ishvalen Civil Wars if Brigadier-General Mustang’s research found its way into the wrong hands. As Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and I are the only ones familiar enough with Brigadier-General Mustang’s alchemy, we are the only ones who can accompany them and the both of us are required since Brigadier-General Mustang’s house is fairly large,” Hawkeye told them, voice as level as it always was.

 

“Yeah, it’s been hard getting a time the two of us had a few hours free at the same time for some reason. Real mystery,” Ed told them, voice mockingly shocked. Morgan and Reid had to cover their laughs when Hotch gave them a look. Hotch gave Ed a look that told him he was a little worried about the blondes’ safety. “Don’t worry. We’ve had legit reasons. We’ll probably be able to join them in raiding Mustang’s house tomorrow or the day after,” Ed told him, trying to assure Hotch that he was aware of how much he could toe the line before the Generals lost it. As much as Ed wanted to see that happened, he didn’t really want it to happen while they were still trying to get Mustang out of jail.

 

“Good. Because there might be something in his house that can help Mustang out,” Hotch reminded him. “It might be a smart idea to let the Generals enter his house sooner rather than later,” he told Ed, who then responded with a long-suffering sigh.

 

“Fine. Assuming nothing happens that needs me or Miss Riza, we’ll offer to accompany those two dumbasses tomorrow after the paperwork is done,” Ed offered, looking at Hawkeye to see if she was on board with the plan.

 

“I believe that should be amicable with the Generals,” Hawkeye told him. Morgan knocked Ed lightly on the shoulder.

 

“I’m sure you’ll find plenty of things to comment on while watching them search the house,” Morgan said as a way to brighten the blonde’s mood a little. Judging from the sudden grin on his face, he may have done so a bit to well. Judging from the look on Hawkeye’s face, Morgan was certain he would pay in some painful way if something that Hawkeye wouldn’t approve of happened.

* * *

“Hey, Chief!” Havoc’s voice shouted from the other ended of the corridor as the eight of them approached the office door. They all looked up automatically to see Havoc and Fuery bustling down the hallway towards them, weighed down with bags filled with lunch.

 

“Hey, Havoc. Whatchu doing?” Ed asked as he reached out to take some of Fuery’s bags, to the bespectacled man’s obvious relief. Havoc looked a little upset that Ed hadn’t taken any of his bags but the disappointment disappeared when Hawkeye gave him an unimpressed look.

 

“Al told us that you would probably want food so we did a lunch run,” Havoc answered Ed’s question, lifting the bags to show Ed.

 

“Al knows me too well,” Ed told them, nodding seriously. Morgan and Havoc rolled their eye in tandem as Hawkeye opened the door to the office and let them go through first, much to the delight of everyone left inside.

 

“I think I got everyone what they wanted,” Havoc told those who were left inside the office before looking at everyone behind him. “Everyone helped figure out what kinds of sandwiches you guys would like,” Havoc told them as he, Ed and Fuery placed the bags on the table, avoiding the carefully sorted papers in the process. Havoc and Fuery proceeded to hand out everyone’s orders and sat in their spots, letting everyone else grab their own seats.

 

There wasn’t much discussion at the table while everyone devoured their food. Ed was evidently not the only one hungry, if the way no one barely looked up from their sandwiches were any clue. Even Hawkeye was more focused on her food rather than work. It wasn’t until most of them were either done or more than halfway done with their lunch when someone finally spoke.

 

“How did you go with the Generals, Brother? How badly did you piss them off?” Al asked, looking a little frightened at the fact that his brother had been able to run rampant without him there to try and reign him in a little.

 

“I may have implied that they were sexist arseholes and dicks,” Ed told him.

 

“Does ‘imply’ mean telling them straight to their face in Amestris?” Prentiss asked, falsely curious. Ed shot her a glare as Al looked at him with a horrified look.

 

“Brother!” Al gasped and Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“They were though!” Ed told him. “Besides, my _implications_ ,” Ed glared at Prentiss once more but she didn’t look overly phased, “served a purpose other than me being a shit to them,” Ed told Al, who had the biggest look of disbelief on his face.

 

“Really?” The level of scepticism was something Ed believed wasn’t necessary or warranted. There were some aborted snorts.

 

“Yes, _really_ , Alphonse,” Ed told him. “It gave Rossi the opportunity to ask me to leave so he could earn some points with the Generals. He was even able to express sympathy and get on the Generals side that way once Hotch and I left,” Ed explained, shoving the last of his sandwich in his mouth.

 

“Why did Hotch go with you?” Al asked, looking between Ed, Rossi and Hotch.

  
“I dunno,” Ed said around his mouthful off food. JJ, Prentiss and Hawkeye all glared at him until he swallowed his food and offered a sheepish smile.

 

“I figured someone should stay with Ed so he didn’t cause trouble,” Rossi told Al.

 

“Hey!” Ed indignantly while a couple of the others smothered their laughter behind their fists or sandwiches.

 

“Good thinking, Sir,” Alphonse said, nodding along with his praise.

 

“HEY!” Ed said with a bit more indignation and his betrayed expression had Havoc, Morgan, Breda, Alphonse and Prentiss laughing openly at him. “You all suck,” Ed grumbled, sinking down in his chair and pouting slightly. The amusement in his eyes dimmed the effect of his pout though. Al knocked his fist lightly against his older brother’s shoulder as a show of affection, causing Ed to respond with a roll of his eyes but he did sit up straighter.

 

“I know that you didn’t believe the reason to have been political even before you spoke to the General. Did the talk with the two of them confirm that suspicion?” Hawkeye asked once she finished the last of her lunch.

 

“Yes. I no longer believe politics to be any sort of motivator here,” Rossi told them as Prentiss nodded.

 

“Same for me. I asked the Generals what they would personally gain from Mustang being locked away and they gave me a bullshit answer of how it would remove a dangerous criminal from the streets and protect the public. When Rossi brought up the possibility of Mustang becoming Fuhrer in the future, the Generals believed it never would happen because alchemists were too dangerous to be allowed to be in that kind of position of power,” Prentiss told them. “Reading between the lines, all these two want to do is make sure Mustang cannot raise himself high enough on the military ladder where he could potentially be considered for the position of Fuhrer,” Prentiss was saying.

 

“Like I mentioned to Lieutenant Ross after we spoke to the Fuhrer, it was made apparent to me that the Generals had simply seized the opportunity to rid themselves of someone who they knew would be a massive threat to them that was presented to them. They didn’t have anything to do with the actual set up but I am sure the true mastermind had counted on the Generals being opportunistic like this and they did what they wanted with no hesitation. The interview with them just solidified that initial thought for me.” Prentiss looked a little annoyed at the thought of the Generals allowing themselves to be used so easily.

 

“So, politics have been ruled out?” Ed asked and Prentiss and Rossi nodded. “Thank fuck. That is way too annoying to deal with,” Ed informed them, his voice completely serious. Mustang’s team – minus Hawkeye and Falman – and the BAU – the exception there being Hotch and Rossi – gave some form of agreement with either laughter or enthusiastic nodding. Falman and Maria, however, didn’t look they completely disagreed with Ed’s comment.

 

“Did you find out anything new from your talk with Mustang?” Hotch asked Morgan and Reid once everyone had settled down a bit.

 

“Unfortunately, no. Mustang only told us what Captain Hawkeye had told me earlier. No one has sent him any letters or gifts or anything of the like that he hasn’t told Captain Hawkeye about. I’ve asked him to think over the last six months carefully to try and remember every time he thought he felt someone watching a little too intensely. I’ll go back and talk to him again tomorrow, assuming we have the time, to see what he came up with,” Morgan reported back.

 

“So, infatuation and admiration have been ruled out?” Havoc was, surprisingly, the one to ask this time.

 

“Yes, I think it’s safe to rule those two as motives out as well,” Morgan agreed.

 

“So, we’re left with revenge?” Ed asked.

 

“It would appear that way,” Rossi said. Ed screwed up his face.

 

“I almost wish it was political now. We’d probably have less suspects that way,” Ed commented drily.

 

“Brother,” Al said in his usual tired sigh.

 

“What? Not my fault Mustang can be a dick,” Ed grumbled at him. “Exactly how many times was I kidnapped because the kidnapper wanted to use me to get to Mustang?” Ed asked snarkily when Al rolled his eyes at him.

 

“Good point,” Al said after a moment. He refused to give Ed the satisfaction of gloating by cutting him off before he could begin. “What do you plan on doing next?” Al asked the BAU.

 

“I’m thinking that Ed should take someone from the BAU down to the hospital and interview Lieutenant-General Armstrong,” Morgan said, leaning back in his chair.

 

“Me?” Ed asked incredulously. “Why am I the one going with you lot to interview her? She’s not exactly my biggest fan,” Ed pointed out but Reid shook his head.

 

“Major Armstrong said ‘my dear sister wishes for me to let Lieutenant-Colonel Elric that she is feeling much stronger since she woke up yesterday and would warmly welcome a visit from Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and his companions at any time’, which would indicate that she wishes to talk to you about something as well,” Reid told him and Ed blinked at him.

 

“Huh. I didn’t think of it like that,” Ed admitted but Mustang’s team – with the exception of Falman and Hawkeye – looked at Reid like he’d grown an extra head.

 

“I’m fairly certain that’s word-for-word what Armstrong said,” Havoc said in amazement. “How did you do that?” He asked as Reid’s cheeks slowly turned red.

 

“I have an eidetic memory. I can remember everything I’ve ever seen, heard, read or done. It comes in handy a lot during cases,” Reid told him, a little shyly.

 

“He’s certainly saved our arses a few times,” Morgan grinned as he reached over and ruffled Reid’s hair, causing the young agent to scowl at him as he tried to fix his hair.

 

“Who do you think should go with you to interview Lieutenant-General Armstrong, Edward?” Hotch asked, moving the subject back on track. Ed’s brow furrowed in thought before he made eye contact with Hawkeye.

 

“Miss Riza?” Ed asked, getting her attention. “I’m taking Miss Maria but do you think Rossi or Miss JJ should go with us?” Hawkeye seemed to think it about it for a few moments.

 

“I would suggest you take Agent Rossi with you, Edward. I imagine his military experience will work in his favour more than Agent Jareau’s diplomacy,” Hawkeye gave a slightly apologetic look to JJ, who gave her a smile to show she didn’t mind.

 

“Okay so Miss Maria and Rossi can come with me.” Ed looked like he was talking about walking into a lion cage. A glance by the BAU members at the members of Mustang’s team told them that they didn’t think Ed’s expression was overly dramatic. “When do you want to leave?” Ed asked the oldest BAU agent.

 

“Any time,” Rossi shrugged a shoulder and Ed received a similar answer when he looked at Maria with a silent version of the same question. Ed sighed.

 

“Might as well go get it over and done with now,” Ed groaned. “What about the rest of you? What are you guys going to do?” Ed asked.

 

“We’ll go over the case files with Reid and Sheska and see what connections and observations they might have been able to come up with,” Hotch told him. “What we do after that depends on the information we get.” Ed nodded in understanding.

 

“Fair enough.” After all, you shouldn’t do anything without all the information. The fact that that didn’t really stop Ed in pretty much all situations wasn’t something that should be worried about right now. “Just remember that one member of this team, Armstrong’s or Brookes’ teams needs to be with you at all times,” Ed reminded them. The blonde made to stand up when something he’d thought of came back to the front of his mind. “How dangerous do you think this criminal is? Have they gotten what they wanted?” Ed asked, settling on the edge of his chair as he waited for an answer.

 

“Morgan?” Hotch asked, indicating that the mentioned man should take the lead with this one.

 

“The fact that a revenge motive is the only one that hasn’t been ruled out makes those questions a little more difficult to answer so bear with me,” Morgan said, receiving a couple of small nods. “This unsub is somewhat of a mystery. The fact that there haven’t been any rumours reported about someone gloating over framing Mustang or the unsub themselves reaching out to show how much smarter they are than everyone else tells me that they aren’t finished which is unusual. Normally, when someone is driven by revenge, it’s against one person or group as a whole,” Morgan revealed.

 

“If Mustang was the only target, there should be someone in Central who’s heard someone else bragging about the fact that a Brigadier-General was in jail because of something they did. The level of planning and the amount of time that went into this whole thing is phenomenal. The level of dedication this person had to have tells me that they’re only targeting Mustang. So far, he’s the only person who’s really suffered at the hands of the unsub. Everyone else has only suffered indirectly from the unsubs actions. The families and friends of the victims aren’t important to the unsub; they’re just collateral damage in this case.” There was something in Morgan’s expression that had Ed thinking there was more.

 

“But?” Hawkeye asked, proving that Ed wasn’t the only one to notice.

 

“But the fact that there’s been no communication whatsoever between the unsub and you guys or Mustang makes me think they’re not done yet,” Morgan revealed. “Any human who has put this much time, effort and dedication into something like this is going to gloat once it succeeds. It’s human nature to make sure someone else knows what you’ve done when it works out as well as this plan did. I imagine that you guys would have heard rumours about someone going around and saying they framed Mustang by now. Something tells me that this plan the unsub has is only partly done,” Morgan told them, voice a little dire.

 

“How sure are you about that?” Havoc asked, his usual cheery voice dulled to suit the atmosphere.

 

“I can only go off of what my past experiences and gut are telling me but I think it’s a high chance that this unsub hasn’t finished yet. I think that they’ll strike again soon. I just don’t know how, when, where or who against,” Morgan told them. His answer caused Ed to rub a hand over his face.

 

“Alright,” Ed sighed before looking up, golden eyes moving over all of them. “No one goes anywhere alone. If you have to go home or to the shops or wherever, take someone you trust completely with you and tell someone else where you’re going and roughly when you think you’ll both be back. That includes you guys.” Ed gestured to the BAU, Sheska and Maria. “Until we figure out who the real criminal is, we can’t risk someone else being hurt or worse because they were able to get someone alone,” Ed told them.

 

“I agree with Edward,” Hawkeye said, piercing everyone with her gaze. “Do not leave this office without someone accompanying you for any reason. Those who live near one another should consider sleeping at the one house. We need to be careful until we close this case. Is that understood?” Hawkeye asked and nodded satisfactorily when everyone nodded without a word of argument.

 

“Okay. We’ll go head to the hospital now,” Ed said after allowing a couple of moments of silence to permeate the room. Despite the fact that he was the one to suggest it, Ed knew he wouldn’t need to have someone accompany him everywhere. Ed also knew that until this case was over, he was going to have to make some sacrifices. “When you guys know what you’re going to do, let everyone staying here know,” Ed said as he, Rossi and Maria stood. “Hopefully, we’ll be back here inside of two hours. I can’t imagine that Lieutenant-General Armstrong wants to be in our company for too long,” Ed told them.

 

“Be nice, Brother,” Al said and Ed looked at him like he was crazy.

 

“You think I’m gonna pull my usual shit in front of the Ice Queen? You getting sick or something, Al?” Ed asked, placing his gloved flesh hand on Al’s forehead jokingly and laughed as Al swatted it away.

 

“It doesn’t hurt to make sure when it comes to you, Brother,” Al sniffed and yelped when Ed swatted him lightly on the back of the head before dancing out of the way before Al could retaliate.

 

“See ya!” Ed said, grinning at Al’s scowl as he left the office, Maria and Rossi giving their own goodbye before following the blonde alchemist.

 

“Is it bad that I almost hope Lieutenant-General Armstrong gets angry at him for some reason?” Al muttered, barely loud enough to be heard, as he rubbed the spot on his head where Ed had hit him.

 

“Let’s get to work,” Hawkeye said but Al couldn’t help but notice she didn’t answer his question. 

* * *

 

When Ed led Rossi and Maria to the military car parking lot, he was surprised to be greeted by Sergeant Browning once more. After a quick hello and some introductions – considering their rush the previous day meant introductions had been neglected – Ed, Rossi and Maria climbed into the back of the car while Sergeant Browning got behind the wheel and headed for the hospital.

 

The drive was filled with quiet chatter as Ed regaled Maria and Rossi with his stories about how he and Al met Lieutenant-General Armstrong in Fort Briggs and the battle against Sloth. He had begun telling them about General Raven when Browning had interrupted to let them know he was pulling up to the hospital now.

 

“Thanks, Sergeant Browning,” Ed said as Browning pulled the car into the closest parking spot he could find to the front entrance.

 

“No problems, Sir,” Browning assured him. “Would you like me to stay here with the car until you’re finished?” Browning asked and Ed’s brows crinkled as he thought about his answer.

 

“No, we should be alright. I’ll call for a car if we need one,” Ed told him. “But thanks anyway,” Ed said with a quick smile.

 

“Okay, Sir. Good luck,” Browning said, snapping a salute that Ed was waving him out of before he even finished the gesture.

 

“Thanks, Sergeant Browning,” Ed said once more before he, Rossi and Maria moved away from the car and headed for the front entrance.

 

“Hey, Ed?” Ed made a humming noise to show he’d heard Rossi as they waited for the few cars driving through to clear. “Why do you address nearly everyone in the military by their rank with the exception of Mustang’s team and those like Lieutenant Ross, despite the fact that they’re usually lower in rank than you?” Rossi asked curiously.

 

“They haven’t asked me to not address them by their rank. Mustang’s team, Miss Maria, Brosh and a few others have told me not to worry about their rank but no one else has. Just because I don’t care about my rank, it doesn’t mean no one else does,” Ed told him with a shrug. Rossi didn’t think that was the answer he’d really expected but he wasn’t surprised by it.

* * *

The hospital was relatively busy and Rossi was amused to see the semi-fearful looks Edward was given by some of the nurses and even a couple of doctors as they walked past them. Rossi noted that every nurse and doctor who walked passed them had the typical glance up and down each of them, searching for anything to indicate an injury, before continuing on their way. Once their path was clear, Ed led them to the nurse’s station and waited until the nurse manning the desk was free to talk.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric. How can we help you?” The red-haired nurse with a pixie-cut asked the moment she finished with what she was doing.

 

“Hey, Emma. We’re hear to chat with Lieutenant-General Armstrong if we can please?” Ed asked, ignoring the use of his rank. After his first few visits to Central hospital and being ignored every time he asked them to not use his rank, he’d given up and let them have the win.

 

“Let me call Doctor Evans and see if she is taking visitors at this time. Please wait a moment,” Emma requested as she reached for the phone sitting next to her before Ed had even nodded. They waited as she let the phone ring twice before an audible click was heard and a gruff voice sounded on the other end. “Doctor Evans? It’s Nurse Emma from the front desk. Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and two colleagues are requesting visitation with Lieutenant-General Armstrong. May I send them through?” The gruff voice said something and Emma shook her head. “No, his companions aren’t the Generals,” she said and Ed choked on a laugh. Emma’s green eyes twinkled with amusement at his reaction. “I’ll let them know. Thank you, Doctor Evans,” Emma said before hanging the phone up and looking up at Edward. “Do you remember the room you stayed in when you were admitted after your were stabbed last year?” Emma asked.

 

“Yup,” Ed said, ignoring the looks on Rossi and Maria’s face.

 

“Good. Lieutenant-General Armstrong is in the room opposite that one,” Emma told him. Ed nodded before backing away from the station.

 

“Thanks, Emma,” Ed grinned at her before heading down a corridor with purpose, Rossi and Maria following closely.

 

“You got stabbed?” Rossi asked. Ed nodded.

 

“I have been a few times. That one was before I headed to Fort Briggs and it was only a flesh wound. I didn’t even need to be hospitalised,” Ed told them aggravatedly. “It barely nicked the bone. Doctor Evans completely overreacted,” Ed told them as they turned a corner and followed that hallway up.

 

“How dare Doctor Evans make sure his patient was alright rather than let him loose while still injured?” Rossi asked sarcastically, causing Maria to struggle keeping her amused smile off of her neutral expression and causing Ed to glare at him. They turned a final corner and Ed spotted the room immediately. It probably helped that there was a doctor standing just outside the door, a seemingly permanent scowl on his face.

 

“Hey, Dr Evans,” Ed called as they approached. Evans lifted his eyes off the clipboard in his hand and took in the three people approaching him. The scruitinising glare intensified when it was turned on Maria and Rossi; Ed merely got the same once-over they’d all received upon entering the hospital.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Evans dipped his head at Ed. “Congratulations on not being killed before you got a promotion. I’m fairly certain there’s a betting pool in the hospital about what rank you’ll reach before your stubbornness gets the best of you,” Evans said drily. Ed didn’t look overly mad about the information.

 

“I didn’t plan on accepting the promotion but circumstances forced my hand. Thanks, anyway,” Ed told him. “Also, there definitely is a betting pool. Al and I are in on it,” Ed grinned as Evans rolled his eyes.

 

“Of course you are,” Evans muttered at the same time Rossi did. Rossi’s voice seemed to spark something with Ed.

 

“Oh, right! Dr Evans, this is Lieutenant Maria Ross and David Rossi. He’s a specialised consultant working in tandem with my team and Mustang’s lawyer,” Ed introduced them. Evans chose to nod at them rather than shake their hands, since his were currently occupied.

 

“Pleasure. You have half an hour unless Lieutenant-General Armstrong asks you to leave before that time is up,” Evans told them, fixing them with a glare that promised retribution if they should try and push the limit or ignore Armstrong asking them to leave.

 

“Got it, Doc,” Ed promised. Doctor Evans nodded once before rapping the door with his knuckles. They clearly heard someone permit them entrance but Doctor Evens didn’t let them through just yet.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and two co-workers are here to talk with you. Am I right to let them in?” Evans asked and Armstrong must have nodded or given some other sign because Evans merely moved to the side a moment later. “Half an hour,” he reminded the three as they walked through the door before he shut it behind them, leaving them alone with an irritated looking Lieutenant-General Olivier Armstrong.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 –**

Lieutenant-General Olivier Armstrong was watching them with eagle eyes as they entered the room. Her frosty blue eyes stood out strikingly against the white walls, bed linen and the white bandage wrapped carefully around her head wound. Her wrist was in a plain white cast and Ed’s keen eyes were able to pick up the slight bulge of bandage under her shirt, stabilising her broken and bruised ribs. Despite her obvious injuries, she was sitting up in bed, alert and Ed was positive that she could single-handedly kick all three of their arses without breaking a sweat.

 

“Good afternoon, Lieutenant-General Armstrong,” Ed said, offering a salute. Rossi seemed a little shocked at that. After all, Grumman was the only person he’d seen Ed actually salute. Armstrong dismissed his salute after making him hold it for a moment. “You might already know Lieutenant Maria Ross since she’s under Major Armstrong’s command but this is David Rossi. He’s part of a group who are acting as consultants for Mustang’s lawyer. Their speciality is getting into the mind of serial killers, mass murderers, kidnappers, etc, and helping the police narrow their suspect pool by giving them a psychological profile to work with,” Ed explained, keeping his voice as respectful as possible.

 

“He’s not Amestrian. Where did you find these consultants?” Armstrong asked brusquely.

 

“How much has Major Armstrong told you about Mustang and mines disappearance five months ago?” Ed asked, avoiding the question for a moment. The look in Armstrong’s eyes told him he will be answering the question very shortly.

 

“He didn’t tell me anything. My brother may be a soft-hearted fool but he is loyal, I’ll give him that. You and Mustang asked him not to say anything to anyone so he didn’t,” Armstrong told him, voice a little miffed.

 

“Okay. Well, three months after Promised Day, Truth kidnapped me and Mustang.” Ed didn’t bother reminding her who Truth was since she knew what he and Al had done. “Part of my deal to get Alphonse back was to owe Truth a favour. It collected. A State Alchemist called Thomas Harding, or the Boiling Alchemist, disappeared and Mustang was tasked to find him when Truth took us. We were sent to another dimension. An alternate world, if you will. We met Rossi and his team there and joined forces to find and eliminate Harding,” Ed told her.

 

“Three months later, Harding’s adopted brother, Moore, managed to lure me into a trap that sent me back to the same dimension. Mustang fell for it a few hours later and we teamed up with these guys and another team to find Moore and bring him back here.” Ed paused for a breath. “The morning after you were attacked, Truth kidnapped Rossi and his team and sent them here to ‘right a wrong that would require it to use far more energy correcting itself than it did to send them here’.” Ed finished the shortest retelling he’d ever given of those two trips and explanation for why the BAU were here. Armstrong considered him for a moment before turning her eyes to Rossi.

 

“I’ve already given my statement to Brookes. I haven’t recalled anything else, useful or not, so what is the point of this interview?” Armstrong looked a little annoyed at the fact that her memory wasn’t working with her. Rossi was a little more shocked at the fact that she seemed to believe Ed so easily.

 

“There is a technique my team has used on numerous witnesses that have helped them recall tiny details that the brain dismissed as unimportant in the grand scheme of things. What I would like your permission to do is to walk you through this memory recall activity to see if you’re able to remember something more,” Rossi explained.

 

“What would this entail on my part?” Armstrong asked, a touch of curiousity in her voice.

 

“How it works is I would have you close your eyes and walk me through every single moment of your attack. I would ask questions at certain points to see if the questions jolts something loose, so to speak. We wouldn’t be focusing solely on the physical attack but also on what you heard, smelled and felt. Any of these details could help us find the person who attacked you and murdered the other five victims,” Rossi told her.

 

“And if what I recall points to Mustang?” Armstrong asked. Ed shifted where he stood but Rossi didn’t hesitate.

 

“Then it would be handed over to Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes and Mustang’s defence lawyer. My team’s job is to find out who is behind these attacks, even if those facts point to someone we consider a friend,” Rossi told her, honesty all over his face. Armstrong held his gaze for a few moments before nodding her head once.

 

“Very well. I’ll be expecting every detail from you about your interdimensional travels at a later date,” She stabbed a finger at Ed, who paled slightly like she was aiming a gun at him.

 

“Yes, General Armstrong,” the blonde nodded agreeably.

 

“Good. As for you,” she looked at Rossi, “let’s get started. We don’t have all day and my family will be here in an hour. I’d like some time to prepare myself for that visit so I don’t kill them,” Armstrong told him and Rossi gave a dip of his head.

 

“Of course,” he said before gesturing to the seat next to her bed. “Would it be alright if I sit here?” He asked and Armstrong gave an inviting tilt of her head. “Thank you. Now, the first I need you to do is close your eyes and immerse yourself in your memories.” Armstrong glared a warning at the three of them before doing as she was requested. After a moment, Rossi continued. “Now, I want you to go as far back as the moment you left the restaurant your family was having dinner at. You were walking from there to Central Command for a late meeting with Fuhrer Grumman. How were you feeling?” Rossi asked, producing a pad and pen from his jacket.

 

“I was irritated. I can’t handle being subjected to my family for a long period of time and the dinner had grated on my nerves more than it should have. My brother had been intent on discussing Mustang’s connections to the case and the suspicion it caused. My parents had spent the evening trying to convince me to give up my position at Fort Briggs so I could be stationed closer to Central. We spent the evening arguing and I was on my last nerve when I realised I needed to leave,” Armstrong told them. “I believe my irritation was very visible as most of the people I passed as I was heading to Central Command gave me a wide berth,” Armstrong told him and, secretly, Ed didn’t blame those citizens for giving Armstrong room.

 

“Was there anyone who didn’t get out of your way? Anyone who looked almost relieved or excited to see you walking in the street?” Rossi asked. Armstrong screwed up her face in concentration.

 

“No. No one was like that.” Rossi didn’t let himself voice his disappointment.

 

“Okay. Then what happened?” Rossi asked. Armstrong frowned a little before answering.

 

“I schooled my expression before I continued walking. I got a few metres from the mouth of the alleyway I was attacked in when I heard shuffling on the cobblestones, like someone had gone into the alley for a cigarette or was waiting for an unsuspecting victim to mug. I had hoped momentarily that it was someone who wanted to try and mug me. I wanted to vent my frustrations at the dinner on someone and a mugger seemed like a good person to teach a lesson to,” Armstrong divulged.

 

“Did you see or hear anything else before you kept walking? Another person on the opposite street, someone coughing?” Rossi asked.

 

“There were noises coming from the store I was walking past. Considering the time of night, I presume they were closing the business for the day and preparing for the next morning. I didn’t hear anyone else in the alleyway or nearby,” Armstrong said, eyes twitching as she fought the urge to open them.

 

“Okay. What happened next?” Rossi asked, pen scratching gently against the paper of his notepad. Maria and Ed hadn’t moved a muscle.

 

“I went to walk past the alleyway. I made it a couple of steps in front of it when I heard something else,” Armstrong told him. “I stopped and listened, straining my hearing so I could figure out what it was. What I heard was someone – a woman, I think – asking for help. I admit that I hesitated to go in. I was going to be late for the Fuhrer and I knew it could be a trap considering my rank and the fact that I was by myself,” Armstrong admitted.

 

“Why did you go into the alleyway?” Rossi asked and Armstrong shrugged a shoulder, seemingly unaffected by her broken rib.

 

“I decided not to take the risk that someone could have been attacked and was lying in there, hurt and unable to move. I didn’t need the inconvenience of guilt on my conscious if I later discovered a civilian was killed because I didn’t make sure.” Rossi didn’t say anything, just wrote the information done. “I entered the alleyway, making sure I was moving quietly so if it was a trap, I wouldn’t give away my presence.”

 

“What did the alleyway smell like?” Rossi asked and Armstrong frowned in confusion. Ed had a similar look on his face. Maria was not managing to hide her own confusion very well.

 

“It smelled disgusting. Like rotting foods and rubbish. Like stale beer, cigarettes, urine and old vomit. I think I smelt cheap perfume as well but the stench of the alley was almost overpowering.” Armstrong looked annoyed that she couldn’t remember clearly.

 

“Could you smell blood?” Rossi asked and Armstrong froze for a moment.

 

“No, I couldn’t,” she told him. Rossi wrote it down before asking her to continue. “When I passed the old dumpster, I could hear the voice clearer but I noticed something odd about it and it made me pause. The voice was repeating the same two phrases over and over again but there weren’t any differences in the tone, breathing or spacing between the phrases. That’s when I realised it was a recording and focused on my surroundings.” Rossi once again interrupted with a question.

 

“Did you hear anything else that tipped you off that someone else was there? Maybe you felt something, like a breeze ruffling your sleeve as they passed you?” Rossi asked and Armstrong’s face screwed up slightly in concentration.

 

“I heard a gasp, a surprised one. Like someone had been lying in wait for me but hadn’t expected me to stop there. I think I heard light, quick footsteps but I’m not sure. I remember feeling annoyed at myself for falling for the trap even though I had been aware it could’ve been one.” Armstrong still sounded annoyed at herself. “I don’t think I felt any sort of breeze or anything.”

 

“Can you remember how wide the alleyway was?” Rossi asked and despite the fact that her eyes were closed, Armstrong looked thrown by the question.

 

“You could move one dumpster around the other with barely enough space for someone to walk in between the two objects. Why?” She asked, a touch demandingly.

 

“You said you thought you heard light, quick footsteps. If someone moved past you that quietly but quickly, I imagine they’ve either had stealth training – unlikely considering they gasped when you stopped, General – or they’re a lightly built person,” Rossi explained. “But let’s get back to the activity. How did you know someone was behind you?” Rossi asked.

 

“I could feel them behind me. I’ve spent years defending Fort Briggs from the Drachman and myself from my own enemies. I am able to tell when someone with malicious intent towards my person is behind me. I heard them swing the metal rod at me and ducked to miss the blow. I then, unfortunately, went to draw my sword. I had forgotten in the heat of the moment that I had agreed to my mother’s request for me to leave my weapon at the family manor while we dined. That mistake undoubtedly cost me the fight.” Armstrong almost growled that part. “After I tried for my missing sword and realised it was gone, I threw a punch but they’d already moved before swinging again and they managed to hit me in the temple, causing my head wound and my vision to become blurry. I went down,” she told them.

 

“When you swung for your attacker – with your training – I imagine you would have aimed for your attacker’s head or face, correct?” Armstrong nodded. “Did you aim for someone taller, shorter or around your height?” Rossi asked. Edward was impressed. He wouldn’t have thought about that sort of thing. Judging by the minute changes in Armstrong’s face, she hadn’t either.

 

“I think I aimed for someone roughly the same height as myself, maybe slightly shorter.” Ed swore softly.

 

“Wanna share something, Edward?” Rossi asked.

 

“Lieutenant-General Armstrong and Mustang are the same height,” Ed told him. Rossi nodded before turning back to Armstrong herself.

 

“General Armstrong, what did you feel beneath your body when you fell? Did you land solely on the alley floor or did you feel something else?” Rossi asked.

 

“I felt the pavers that created the alleyway. They were rough, cold and filthy. I could feel the dirt and pavers dig into my hands when I tried to get up again. I think there was something like newspaper or cardboard under my feet because it slid when I tried to get up just before I was knocked down again. I believe by a kick to the ribs, resulting in my broken rib,” Armstrong said, wincing almost imperceptibly as her rib seemed to choose that moment to flare in pain.

 

“Did the shoes feel heavy, like Edward’s, or like the standard military boot?” Rossi asked.

 

“No, I remember seeing them. They were the standard military boots issued to every soldier,” Armstrong told him.

 

“As was the military uniform?” Rossi asked and Armstrong nodded. “Okay. What happened after the blow to your ribs?” Rossi scribbled something on his notepad before waiting for her answer.

 

“I heard something like scratching. I figured it was a rat in the alley but it stopped after a few moments,” Armstrong said before frowning in thought. This made Rossi sit up a little.

 

“Whatever you’re thinking of, don’t try to chase it. Let it come to you,” Rossi advised. “What happened after you heard the scratching?” Rossi asked after a moment.

 

“I tried to regain my feet once more. I managed to get to my knees because,” Armstrong’s eyes pinched shut a little tighter, “because my attacker moved a couple of steps backwards. I startled them and they stumbled back, like a weak-stomached coward,” Armstrong sneered. “I went to get up but they struck me across the back and I went down again. This time, I managed to catch myself before I fell completely but they kicked my wrist out from underneath me and I hit the ground again. I remember tasting blood so I’m certain I bit my tongue or cheek when I hit the floor,” Armstrong said.

 

“What could you smell?” Rossi asked. “What could you hear?”

 

“I could smell the dirt and the muck on the alleyway floor. I could smell the blood from my wounds and I could smell that same perfume or cologne again,” Armstrong told them. “I could hear my heartbeat. I could hear the sounds of a car driving past us and the sounds of someone moving about inside the building next to us. I could also hear the sound of heavy breathing from the person attacking me. It sounded muffled, like something was obstructing their mouth or they were trying to control their breaths by keeping their mouths shut. I heard the scratching noise again,” Armstrong added the last part almost as an afterthought.

 

“Do you remember what direction the scratching noise was coming from?” Rossi asked and Armstrong paused before she answered, thinking about the question.

 

“From my attacker. Or nearby where they were standing at the time, anyway,” Armstrong told him.

 

“Okay. So, what happened after that?” Rossi asked, pen making another note.

 

“I heard the scratching and I tried to look my attacker in the face so I would be able to identify them. Unfortunately, my head wound had bled so much that the blood obscured my vision even more and I was unable to make out their face,” Armstrong explained. “The scratching noise sounded again and I saw sparks coming from their hands but a door inside the building closed. That spooked my attacker enough that they stopped the noise and the sparking ceased as well. Another door opened closer to us and my attacker fled, the lily-livered bastard. A few moments later, the outer door behind me opened and I was found by one of the workers,” Armstrong finished telling them.

 

“Please keep your eyes closed for the moment, General Armstrong.” Rossi requested quickly when she looked like she was about to open them. Armstrong let out an annoyed sigh but did as she was asked. “I want you to think back to every time you heard the scratching noise. What else happened when you heard it?” Rossi asked.

 

“I saw sparks.” Armstrong told him.

 

“Nothing else? Just the sparks whenever you heard the scratching?” Armstrong nodded. “And in your statement, you said your attacker was wearing white gloves, correct?”

 

“Correct,” Armstrong said.

 

“Okay,” Rossi said, flipping through his notes. “Now, when you were talking about when you tried regaining your feet the second time, there was something that sparked a thought that you were trying to grab but I told you to let it go. Did you manage to think of it?” Rossi asked.

 

“Yes, I think so,” Armstrong huffed. “I remember assuming it was Mustang attacking me when I first saw the gloves and the sparks but when my attacked stumbled back the second time I tried regaining my feet, the action made me rethink my attacker’s identity. I may not like Mustang in the slightest but even I know he would never kick someone when they were down nor would he be surprised enough to stumble back just because I tried to regain my feet,” Armstrong told them.

 

“Alright,” Rossi said, making a note before flipping a couple more pages back. “Now, when you said you saw the uniform your attacker was wearing, can you remember seeing anything on it that would identify who it belonged to? Medals, maybe? Maybe the uniform wasn’t complete or the dress shirt was the wrong colour?” Rossi probed, hoping to jog her memory a little bit with these suggestions.

 

“No, the uniform looked complete. They were wearing the standard white dress shirt. No medals that I saw. There was something though,” Armstrong went silent and the slightest of furrows appeared in between her brows as she tried to think of it. “I think there may have been a button missing on the military jacket. I remember the jacket was open slightly more than it should have been by military protocol,” Armstrong told him. Rossi made a final note before scanning back over his notes quickly.

 

“Thank you, Lieutenant-General Armstrong. I believe we have finished with the memory recall activity,” Rossi said. The moment he finished saying ‘thank you’, Armstrong opened her eyes and fixed her icy gaze on Rossi.

 

“What did you take from what I said?” Armstrong asked, shifting slightly so she was more comfortable on the hospital bed. Ed felt sympathy aches for her from his first-hand experience camping on those beds.

 

“Your attacker may be more petite than we thought and likely has no training in stealth since they let out that surprised gasp when you sensed the trap. They’re the same height or slighter shorter than yourself. They either aren’t physically fit or they haven’t been trained in hand-to-hand fighting for a while since they had to muffle their breathing after knocking you down. It’s possible they were wearing a perfume or cologne of some description but it wasn’t strong enough to be more predominant amongst the smells of the alleyway. That tells me that the person either forgot they were wearing the perfume or they hadn’t intended for you to survive the attack,” Rossi said.

 

“You heard scratching noises whenever they tried to make their sparks. Their uniform was standard military issue but missing a button, possibly ripped off in one of the last attacks so we should keep an eye out for it when we go to investigate the crime scenes. There were no medals on the uniform which could mean your attacker hasn’t earned any or they were smart enough to take them off so you couldn’t identify them if you survived. Considering they didn’t try to mask or remove the smell of their perfume or cologne so you couldn’t identify it, I have a feeling they weren’t awarded any medals to begin with,” Rossi told her. Ed blinked at the information they’d managed to gather just from asking a few probing questions.

 

“Then I guess this wasn’t a complete waste of everyone’s time,” Armstrong said, sounding indifferent but Ed knew she had seen the same benefits to this kind of questioning as Ed had done.

 

“Well, I’m glad for that. I do have some other questions for you, Lieutenant-General Armstrong, if you would be willing to answer them?” Rossi asked.

 

“May as well. It would waste the time I have to wait for my family to arrive and it will give me something else to think about,” she said dismissively.

 

“Thank you,” Rossi said as he dipped his head. “You mentioned that you didn’t like Mustang. May I ask if there is a reason?” Armstrong’s eyes flicked to Ed and told him exactly what he could expect if he said anything to anyone. She must have seen his silent oath to stay silent because her eyes flicked back to Rossi.

 

“The first time Mustang and I were introduced, he proceeded to flirt with me. When he learned who I was, his flirting became his way of greeting me whenever we had the misfortune of being in the same room since he knew how much it irritated me. I already had a low opinion of him as he is an alchemist. I’ll admit that my opinion on alchemists was very low. I believed their philosophy of equivalent exchange would lead to a mindset of easy handouts and unnecessary compromise which I believed made them weak and soft-hearted,” Armstrong told them. Ed could feel the look Maria gave him but he didn’t say anything or react in anyway to Armstrong’s words.

 

“Of course, my view on alchemists had started to change a few months before Promised Day when I learned what real equivalent exchange looked like,” Armstrong informed them nonchalantly. Ed looked a little shocked at that revelation but he was quick to wipe it off his face. “I’ll also admit that I believed that he didn’t deserve his promotions as he hadn’t earned them the honourable way; rising through the ranks like non-alchemists did. Instead, he completed his academy training before applying to become a State Alchemist and making the leap to Major.”

 

“And your thoughts on Mustang now?” Rossi asked, pen scrawling across the pages as he made his notes.

 

“I still think he’s a soft-hearted, flirtatious, egotistical womaniser,” Armstrong said as Ed valiantly tried to keep a straight face, “but Promised Day showed me that he is somewhat respectable. His ideas for the military aren’t the worst plans I’ve ever heard and they could potentially benefit Amestris in the long run, if he had the correct allies. I still don’t like him as a person but I do respect him somewhat,” Armstrong told them.

 

“What is your opinion on Mustang being the only suspect?” Rossi asked.

 

“I think that either Mustang has lost his mind or someone is doing a very good job framing him,” Armstrong admitted. “I almost wish I could’ve had the opportunity to meet that person before they turned into a murderer. I believe they would’ve made a good Fort Briggs soldier. We prefer that kind of ruthlessness out there,” she told them with a sharp grin. Ed was very glad she wouldn’t get that opportunity since he and the team would be the first to get their hands on the person behind the frame job.

 

“Okay,” Rossi said with a nod before closing his notepad and tucking it back into his jacket pocket. “Thank you for your time, Lieutenant-General Armstrong. I appreciate your willingness to answer my questions.” Rossi held out a hand for her to shake, making sure she wouldn’t have to use her injured hand to do so.

 

“Like I said, I do not like Mustang, despite what little respect I have for the man, but that does not mean I wish to see him jailed for someone else’s crimes, especially when the crimes in question are these murders and my own attack. I wish to see justice served for myself and the victims but I would not want an innocent man jailed for crimes he didn’t commit,” Armstrong informed them as Rossi stood and stretched slightly.

 

“We still appreciate your willingness to make sure that the right person is jailed for these crimes, not just the most convenient,” Rossi said before he moved to join the others.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Armstrong’s tone had Ed freeze despite knowing he hadn’t done anything to warrant her wrath, not that he knew off anyway, “I’m aware that Doctor Evans has put you on a time limit for today and that that time limit has very nearly expired,” she said and a glance at the clock did in fact show that Doctor Evans would be coming by any minute to kick them out of Armstrong’s room. “However, this does not mean you are off the hook for telling me everything about your travels. I expect a full report the moment you have solved this case. Am I understood?” Armstrong said, blue eyes promising all sorts of revenge should he fail to keep his word.

 

“I will, I promise,” Ed told her, voice a little shaky with how quickly he said it. Armstrong gave a nod to show she’d heard and expected him to keep it now. “Thank you very much, Lieutenant-General Armstrong. I hope your recovery goes well,” Ed said as he saluted her. She was quicker to let him out of this one than she had been with his first one. Maria offered her own well wishes and salute that Armstrong released her from as well before Ed all but shoved the two others out of the room. 

* * *

 

Doctor Evans had been approaching the door to remove the three of them when the door had opened, surprising him to a stop. “At least the three of you can keep to a deadline,” he remarked flatly.

 

“Thanks for letting us see her, Doctor Evans. Have a good afternoon,” Ed said, offering the man a grin.

 

“You too, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric. I’d like to say how refreshing it is to see in this hospital without any injuries of your own,” Dr Evans told him. “Have a good afternoon, Lieutenant Ross, Mr. Rossi,” Evans said before he continued on his way. Ed let out a massive sigh of relief the moment they were halfway to the front entrance.

 

“Thank Truth she was in a good mood today,” Ed sighed as they walked. “I can’t imagine how agreeable she would’ve been if we’d visited after her family had,” he commented and Maria couldn’t supress her shudder at the thought.

 

“Is she truly that scary?” Rossi asked and Ed and Maria gave him a haunted look.

 

“You’ve never seen her up against an enemy or confronted by someone she doesn’t at least respect a little. There’s a reason people call her the Ice Queen and it’s not because Fort Briggs is in the far north,” Ed told him seriously. A familiar face caught Ed’s eye as they moved into the front entrance, heading for a phone to call for a military car. “Captain Hawkeye?” Ed called incredulously. Hawkeye turned to face them when she heard her name and made a bee line straight for them.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, Sir,” Hawkeye said, snapping a salute that Ed waved her out of quickly. “Agent Hotchner has come up with a plan for most of his team and yours for the remainder of the day. Alphonse is waiting outside if you wish to accompany me to the car so you can hear the plan?” She told them, her subtle way of letting them know she hadn’t left the office without a team mate, as discussed earlier.

 

“Okay,” Ed said simply as they followed the blonde Captain out into the carpark. Sure enough, Alphonse was waiting in between two military cars, Sergeant Browning keeping him company as well. The second car was driverless and Ed assumed Hawkeye had driven it herself. “So, what’s up?” Ed asked as they reached the two cars.

 

“Agent Hotchner believes the best course of action would be for myself, Agent Rossi and Lieutenant Ross head to the base of Brigadier-General Mustang’s information network and interview them. At the same time, he wishes for yourself and Alphonse to join himself, Agent Morgan, Agent Reid and Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes at the alleyway where Lieutenant-General Armstrong was attacked to see what they can find out from the crime scenes. I believe their plan is to visit the alleyways where Major-General Bernard Andrews and Brigadier-General Aleyce Henley were killed as well, providing there is enough light to do so,” Hawkeye explained gently, eyes softening when Ed winced slightly at the mention of General Andrews.

 

“Did you say Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes would be joining them?” Maria asked and Hawkeye nodded.

 

“Yes. Agent Jareau pointed out that he had been to all crime scenes and might be able to point out things he’d noticed that had seemed insignificant enough to include in his reports. I contacted the Lieutenant-Colonel’s office and he had told me he was willing to join the group in this task,” Hawkeye told her.

 

“Miss Maria, remember Brookes is on our side,” Ed whispered when Maria looked a little worried about Brookes joining them.

 

“Of course,” Maria nodded.

 

“When are they meeting us there?” Ed asked.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes said he could meet us at any time. We sent them ahead of you and Alphonse so that we could come and pick you up and explain the plan,” Hawkeye told him.

 

“Okey dokey,” Ed said. “What are we waiting for?” He asked. “Have fun, guys,” he said with a wave as Hawkeye, Maria and Rossi headed for the empty car.

 

“You too, Sir. Stay safe,” Hawkeye said, a knowing look in her eyes. Ed almost rolled his own in response.

 

“We will, Miss Riza,” Al told her and Ed was kind of hurt that she seemed more relaxed with Al’s assurance than any Ed had offered her in the past.

 

They watched as the three of them loaded themselves into the car before Hawkeye pulled out and headed away from the parking lot. Ed and Al clambered into the back of the car Browning was driving, after checking the Sergeant knew where they were actually going.

 

“How was your interview with Lieutenant-General Armstrong, Brother?” Al asked and Ed straightened up a little.

 

“Actually, it was really enlightening. Rossi managed to get a bit more information out of her using a memory recall activity. We need to tell the others that we have to keep an eye out for a button off of a standard military issued jacket,” Ed told him. Al nodded.

 

“How is Lieutenant-General Armstrong?” Al asked and Ed gave him an ‘are you for real’ look.

 

“She’s still proving she’s earnt the Ice Queen nickname but her injuries are healing up nicely and she’s decided she needs to know everything about how I first met Rossi and the others, as well as my second mission with them,” Ed told him. Al looked at him in sympathy.

 

“Right now, I am no longer upset that I didn’t get to go with you,” Al told him, eyes glinting cheekily. Ed rolled his eyes before kicking Al lightly in the shin and grinning when he got a yelp in response. Sergeant Browning didn’t comment on their behaviour, simply deciding it was probably best to keep his eyes on the road and leave the two brothers to their slight fight.

* * *

Hawkeye was a very proficient driver, capable of getting Rossi and Lieutenant Ross up to speed on everything that had happened in the hour themselves and Edward had been missing from the office while dodging the mid-afternoon traffic will the same kind of agility Morgan could show in one of their standard SUV’s, something that surprised Rossi since he could tell these cars didn’t have the advancements of the SUV’s. He wasn’t even sure they had any kind of power-steering so the fact that Hawkeye could manoeuvre this car as easily as she did was credit to her.

 

During the teams’ – sans Edward, Rossi and Maria – discussions that afternoon, it had been decided that Morgan, Reid, Hotch, Ed, Al and Brookes would be heading for the crime scenes, starting with Armstrong’s and moving their way backwards through the victims. Rossi had to admit he wasn’t entirely sure why they were going through the crime scenes again. Without the technological advances his world had to offer, they wouldn’t be able to pick up anything like DNA or use things like black lights to find fluids they had missed the first time around. So, he asked Hawkeye.

 

“Agent Hotchner believes – as does the rest of your team – that there still might be evidence that Agent Morgan, Doctor Reid and himself could uncover, thanks to their immense experience in this field. As I explained to Edward, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes is accompanying them as he is one of only a select few people who were at every crime scene and is the only person out of those few that Edward and the rest of us would trust completely to tell us if something clicked for him by revisiting the scenes. He will also be able to explain things like where the victim was found and what piece of evidence was found where and he can answer any questions the members of your team may have,” Hawkeye told him smoothly.

 

“Edward and Alphonse are going because it will give them the chance to see if there is any physical evidence of alchemy at or near the crime scene rather than rely solely on the photographs provided in the case files. Before you can ask why one of them didn’t accompany us,” Hawkeye said, catching Rossi opening his mouth to do just that, “I didn’t split them up for two reasons. The first one being that the two of them work efficiently together. They’ll be able to bounce alchemic ideas off of one another and compare ideas, working their way through possibilities and ways to prove it and the like a lot quicker at the scene rather than only one of them coming up with and working through the ideas. The second reason is because the establishment we are going to is not one I wish for Edward or Alphonse to be in,” Hawkeye informed them.

 

“If you don’t mind me asking, Captain Hawkeye, where are we heading?” Maria inquired and Hawkeye didn’t answer right away in favour of squeezing between two cars.

 

“We’re heading to the base where Brigadier-General Mustang’s information network is centred, as I said before,” Hawkeye told her as she slipped cleanly in a spare carpark outside of a two-storey building with a sign that read ‘Madame Christmas’ Bar’. “This is where Brigadier-General Mustang grew up and first met my grandfather, Fuhrer Grumman. Chris Mustang – or Madame Christmas, as she’s better known – runs this establishment and is Brigadier-General Mustang’s paternal aunt. The ladies who work for her, as you have undoubtedly heard by now, are Brigadier-General Mustang’s information network,” Hawkeye explained before she opened her car door and stepped out. Rossi and Maria followed suit quickly.

 

“It doesn’t look open,” Rossi remarked as they stepped away from the vehicle and followed Hawkeye around the side.

 

“Technically, you are correct. Madame Christmas doesn’t open for business for another couple of hours however she and some of her ladies live here in the rooms on the second floor. I called ahead and they are aware we are coming over,” Hawkeye told him before rapping her knuckles smartly on the door. They didn’t have to wait very long before a woman in her early 20’s opened the door and ushered them inside.

 

The woman – Roxy, as they quickly found out – was pretty, with full lips, rosy cheeks and long, blonde curls spilling artfully over her shoulders and down her back. She was dressed provocatively, yet tastefully; her short, black dress hugging her in the right places and giving them just the slightest hint of cleavage. She had on a small amount of make-up, just enough to accentuate her features rather than cover them. She wore a pair of comfortable flats but Rossi had the feeling those would be exchanged for a pair of heels once the business opened for the night. She offered them a slightly flirtatious smile but Rossi wasn’t sure she’d meant to add that hint of flirting. He had a feeling it had slipped through as a side effect of her job.

 

“Hello, Riza. Who’re your friends?” Roxy asked, giving them an assessing look after she’d run her hazel eyes up and down both Rossi and Maria.

 

“This is Lieutenant Ross and Mr. Rossi, a specially trained consultant hired by Brigadier-General Mustang’s lawyer and investigating with Fuhrer Grumman’s permission. He’s here to ask Madame Christmas and any of her ladies who are willing to partake in the interview some questions regarding Brigadier-General Mustang,” Hawkeye told her evenly. Roxy looked slightly saddened at the mention of Mustang’s name but quickly covered it with a friendly smile.

 

“Madame Christmas did mention you might be by, Riza. If you’ll follow me, I can take you to the parlour room she’s waiting in,” Roxy said, gesturing for them to follow as she walked away. Hawkeye didn’t hesitate and nor did Rossi or Maria, following the blonde without another word.

 

It didn’t take them very long to reach the room Roxy had led them to. Rossi looked around as he entered and was surprised to find it sparsely, though tastefully, decorated with décor similar to what he’d seem from pictures of rooms from the early 1900’s of his Earth. There were four women in the room, three sitting on a love seat while the fourth sat in a single lounge chair with an almost regal air about her. Rossi assumed this woman was Madame Christmas and was proven correct a few moments later.

 

“Madame Christmas, thank you for agreeing to talk with us this evening. This is Lieutenant Maria Ross and Mr. Rossi. Mr. Rossi will be the one to ask you the questions today as he and his team are taking the lead in this investigation,” Hawkeye explained. Madame Christmas looked at Rossi with a calculating gaze.

 

“Why are they in charge of this investigation? It would make more sense for Amestrians to be in charge of clearing my nephew’s name,” Christmas asked, a little haughtily. Her distrust was written all of her face and Rossi knew she wasn’t trying to hide it.

 

Rossi tuned out Hawkeye in exchange for studying the four women in front of him, starting with Christmas herself. She was a large woman with long, black hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore a semi-clingy purple dress with a long, black, fur-trimmed jacket and two necklaces; a strand of pearls and a large, clunky, gold necklace. Her nails were painted to match her dress and she wore small studs in her ears. Her lips were painted red and held a lit cigarette between them. Her stern face and eyes reminded Rossi of Mustang slightly.

 

The other three women had been joined by Roxy, who had perched herself on the armrest on the loveseat. One woman had dark, brown hair cut in a severe line to rest just above her shoulders and bangs that stopped just above her eyes in an equally sharp line. She wore red, a colour that suited her dark skin nicely, the cut of the dress longer than Roxy’s but not by much. The second woman had pale skin that stood out harshly against the dark loveseat. Her hair was pale red, a little darker than strawberry blonde but not by much. Rossi thought the mint-green of her dress suited her wonderfully, allowing her hair and eyes to be the most prominent features rather than her outfit. The third woman was also blonde, like Roxy, but much closer to Edward and Alphonse’s colouring than her friend’s. She was, surprisingly enough, not dressed in a similar fashion to the other three girls. Her dress was far more casual and Rossi wondered if her job tonight was a waitress rather than potential date.

 

“So, you and your team are somehow going to find the true murderer in less than a week when the military couldn’t do so in the month and a half they’ve known there was a serial killer loose in the city?” Madame Christmas’ smokers voice had Rossi pull his attention from his study of the women and place it back on their boss.

 

“My team and I work for a department of our government where our sole duty is to investigate cases like this one and uncover the identity of the criminal. Despite the work that Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes and his team have put into this case, they do not have our training and they are, unfortunately, inhibited by their commanding officers and other members of the military,” Rossi told her. “As we are a separate entity who only answer to Fuhrer Grumman and Lieutenant-Colonels Elric and Brookes, we aren’t inhibited like they were. That fact mixed with our training gives us a higher chance at finding out who is truly to blame for the deaths and attacks in Central.” Madame Christmas’ assessing look reminded him of Hotch’s whenever he was staring down a serial killer or Garcia when you were hiding something.

 

“So you’ll be using your training to uncover the true culprit and clear Roy’s name?” She asked, watching Rossi intently.

 

“We will be using our training to uncover the true culprit, yes,” Rossi told her and he could see her figure out what he was implying when he didn’t say anything about clearing Mustang’s name. To his mild surprise, she looked the slightest bit approving of his answer.

 

“What exactly are you planning on interrogating us about and who do you require to stay here?” Christmas asked, waving a hand at the only other single lounge chair in the room. Rossi sat, only after checking that neither Hawkeye nor Maria wished to use it.

 

“I understand from Fuhrer Grumman and Captain Hawkeye that your employees double as Mustang’s information network, passing along information they find out from their clients, overhear from patrons of your establishment or rumours they hear on the streets. Is this correct?” Rossi asked and Christmas gave him a sharp nod. “I’d like to find out more about how that network operates, any rumours regarding the murders and attack that you may have heard about and I’d like to know your honest opinions on Mustang’s character. As for who I’d ask these questions of; I’d like yourself, Madame Christmas, and any who personally know Mustang and wish to stay for the duration of our talk,” Rossi told them and Christmas narrowed her eyes slightly.

 

“You would allow any of the girls to leave if they wished with no repercussions?” She asked and Rossi allowed a slightly confused look to shadow his face.

 

“Yes? They aren’t under arrest – even if I had the jurisdiction to arrest someone – and they aren’t suspects. This isn’t an interrogation in the sense you may be thinking,” Rossi told her.

 

“So what is it?” Christmas asked, a little demandingly.

 

“This is me simply asking questions to uncover any potential information that may help with my team’s investigation. You are Mustang’s only family,” he dipped his head at Christmas, “and they can be considered co-workers, at the very least, or friends or family, at the most.” A wave of his hand at the girls sitting on the loveseat. “You could all be brought in as character witnesses if this case went to trial. Since my team and I are technically working for Mr. Lanco, part of why I’m here is to ascertain whether you should be called as character witnesses for the defence. The other part is so that my team has as much information about Mustang’s character from those who know him personally so we can use it to prove whether he is the sort of person likely to commit these sorts of crimes,” Rossi explained as best he could. Madame Christmas considered his words for a moment before turning to the four women.

 

“Lacey,” the unknown blonde met her gaze, “go start prepping the bar for open.” Lacey didn’t look like she wanted to miss out on the talk but she nodded and left almost immediately. If Christmas noticed the minute hesitation, she didn’t say anything. “Miranda,” the red head shifted slightly, “Annie,” the brunette stilled slightly, “Roxy, you all may stay if you wish. If not, go help Lacey,” she ordered but the only movement was made by Roxy, who had shifted off the armrest and into the spot previously filled by Lacey. Madame Christmas’ hard expression didn’t shift but Rossi thought he spied a slight glimmer of pride when none of the three remaining women left. Then her eyes met Rossi’s and she was all business woman once again, nodding to give Rossi permission to start.

 

“For my notes I need to ascertain your relationships with Mustang. Madame Christmas, you’re Mustang’s paternal aunt, correct?” Rossi asked and Christmas nodded but offered no other information. Rossi didn’t push for it either. “Ladies?” Rossi looked at the three women expectantly.

 

“We’re part of Roy’s information network but we’re also his sisters, in a way, I suppose,” Miranda answered for them. The other two nodded in agreement.

 

“You suppose?” Rossi asked, mainly out of curiousity, already scribbling the information down in his notepad once more.

 

“Most of us didn’t come into Madame Christmas’ employ because we came from happy, healthy homes. I was fifteen when my mother kicked me out of her house. Madame Christmas found me the next day and employed me as a barmaid, inviting me to live in a room above the bar in exchange for her withholding a small percentage of my wage to cover board and food.” Annie was the one to speak up. “I met Roy a few months after that and I was surprised when he treated all of the ladies here with respect and open friendliness, considering he was in full uniform and I hadn’t witnessed any of the other military men treat women here that way. There was friendly banter and teasing between him and the ladies who were working. It wasn’t until after he’d left that I found out about his relation to Madame Christmas. Kathy, a lady who worked here until a couple of years ago, took me aside and explained everything she thought I needed to know. When Roy returned to Central for a visit and dropped by a few months later, he introduced himself, told me to let Madame Christmas know if anyone gave me any problems so he could sort them out and explained his agreements with the other ladies before offering me the same agreement,” she told him.

 

“It was pretty much the same story for me,” Roxy told him, flashing a flirty smile. “Roy came up to me a couple of weeks after I started working here and offered me the same deal to become part of his information network.” Rossi wrote that down as well.

 

“It was the same for me as well,” Miranda said with an elegant shrug. “I started as a barmaid before moving to work as a companion. Roy found me about a month or so after that – having not had the opportunity to visit Central when I worked as a barmaid – and gave me the run-down. I accepted his offer,” she told him.

 

“How does the information network work? How do you pass along the information? What sorts of information do you pass on? What do you receive in exchange for doing so?” Rossi asked, a little rapidly but none of them seemed perturbed by that.

 

“Everyone who is under Madame Christmas’ employ has been made the same offer, Lacey included. The offer was for us to remember any information we heard that might interest Roy. Spats amongst the higher-ups, anything pertaining to himself or his team, anything he might be able to use to further his goals,” Roxy explained.

 

“While Roy was stationed in East City, passing information along was a little tedious. We would tell Madame Christmas, who would then pass the information along to Fuhrer Grumman, who would then pass it along to Roy or Riza,” Annie said as Riza nodded once to confirm her words were true. “Whenever Roy came to visit, he would take one of us out for lunch or dinner. We could enjoy a night out without the expectations most of our usual clients had and we could pass along anything we had overheard. Now that Roy is in Central, he takes one or two of us out every week, whether we have information or not.” Annie smiled a little fondly at that.

 

“As Annie said, we got a nice evening out without the usual expectations but Roy also offered us money or gifts in exchange for any specific jobs that he had us do,” Miranda said and expanded on her answer when Rossi raised a questioning brow. “There were times when he asked us to keep an ear out for information on or about a specific person or watch to see if a certain military member appeared in the bar. The last time he asked us to do that was a few months ago when he and one of his subordinates were investigating Brigadier-General Aleyce Henley. He wanted to know everything we could find out about her,” Miranda divulged and that piqued Rossi’s interest.

 

“What did you find out about her?” Rossi asked, a tiny amount of eagerness in his voice.

 

“Well, I found out some names of people for Roy to look into but Annie found out the juiciest piece of information we uncovered,” Miranda told him before nudging Annie slightly.

 

“I found out that General Henley was sleeping with her superior at the time, General Raven.” Annie leaned forward in her eagerness to tell him. “Raven was married at the time but I don’t remember him having any children however it still would have been a massive scandal if it got out that two higher-ups were sharing a bed. According to the fellow I found this out from, Henley was very upset when Lieutenant-General Armstrong told them she had killed Raven so she could take his spot in Bradley’s inner group. Everyone had thought she was upset over her boss’ death and the fact that she hadn’t been promoted in his place but she had divulged her relationship during a drunken ramble to her sister that was overheard by my own drunken source. He claimed that she had only told her sister that she had been made certain promises by Bradley should something unfortunate happen to Raven but he didn’t keep his word,” Annie disclosed this information a little gleefully.

 

“So your source was the one who gave Mustang the information about Henley?” Rossi asked.

 

“I presume so. All I know is that my source was promoted a couple of weeks later and offered a transfer to South City, where he could spend more time closer to his mother. Roy had been the driving force behind his transfer, claiming the man had shown excellent promise and would be a good fit under Colonel Dunn’s command,” Annie said, leaning back into the couch once more now that she had passed along her information. Rossi made some notes before looking up again.

 

“The next thing is if any of you have heard any rumours regarding these crimes? Specifically, any rumours that claim that Mustang wasn’t the one behind them?” Rossi asked and the three women frowned a little. Madame Christmas remained impassive though Rossi could see something hopeful, and maybe a little worried, in her eyes.

 

“I haven’t heard anything other than the usual rumours about how it had only been a matter of time before Roy snapped,” Miranda eventually said, a scowl marring her pretty features.

 

“Same here. I think there were a couple of drunks a couple of weeks back who claimed it was a conspiracy to rid our military of a powerful member but they believed the people behind the frame job to be Drachmans who wanted to infiltrate the military and take over Roy’s job.” Annie rolled her eyes daintily.

 

“I haven’t heard anything either. A lot of people had speculated whether Roy was truly innocent or if the military had simply decided to arrest the first suspect they got when the news first broke but the newspapers had gotten quotes from some Generals claiming they’d done a thorough investigation and that Roy was completely guilty.” Roxy’s expression matched Miranda’s. “While they didn’t say it outright, the newspapers implied that there was solid evidence against Roy. Some even made it sound like he’d given a confession!” She exclaimed angrily. Rossi made a note to have JJ look into that, if she wasn’t already.

 

“So, tell me. How would you describe Roy Mustang?” Rossi asked after giving the ladies a moment to calm themselves down.

 

“Like we said, Roy is practically our big brother. He’s protective of us all but only when we can’t handle the problem ourselves or if Madame Christmas can’t handle it,” Miranda told him.

 

“He’s a loyal person. He’d never risk his team being punished for something like this, even if he was capable of killing those people!” Annie insisted.

 

“But he is capable? I’ve heard about Ishval and he _is_ the flame alchemist. He would be very capable of taking people out in such a manner,” Rossi told them and saw the flashes of anger on their faces.

 

“Just because he’s capable, it doesn’t mean he did it! He had to do what he did in Ishval. He hated himself for it. He still wishes Grumman never managed to get him the pardon, even if part of him is grateful for it,” Annie told him sadly. Rossi noticed Hawkeye’s face fall minutely as well.

 

“Roy-boy wouldn’t have dealt with nuisances like that weasel, Bryce, like that,” Christmas spoke for the first time since the questioning started. Rossi almost commented on the nickname but elected to just bring it up to Mustang later. “He had far more legal avenues he would have taken before resorting to doing something like this. Not to mention he was about to lay charges against Henley. He only needed a few more days to get the last few things in place before he could go to Grumman for an arrest warrant. He and that Elric boy who works under him had worked so hard to get all of that information together. Roy-boy would never have killed her if he was about to arrest her. And then there was Andrews’ death,” Christmas told him.

 

“What about Andrews?” Rossi asked. He was fairly certain he knew what Christmas was referring to but it would be good to hear it from another source.

 

“Roy-boy and the Elric boy were friendly with Andrews. I remember Roy coming in here after the first meeting between Andrews and the young Elric and telling me how nice of a change it was that they had got along so well,” Christmas said, her eyes telling Rossi that she knew what he was doing. “Even if I bought Roy murdering the first four because of such ridiculous reasons, I know he would never have killed Andrews, not for the chance to take over his command or anything. Andrews would have likely retired in a few years and Roy would have known that. Roy knows when patience works better than action,” Christmas informed him.

 

“Yes, I believe I’ve witnessed that part of him before,” Rossi told her. “What role do you play in Mustang’s information network, Madame Christmas?” He asked her directly.

 

“The ladies come to me with the information they’ve gathered. I organise the dinners between whichever girl has the most important or interesting information and Roy-boy. If they’ve found out information that Roy needed to know before we could arrange a date, I would use my connection with Grumman to funnel the information through to Roy-boy,” Christmas explained, leaning back regally in her chair, puffing on her new cigarette.

 

“May I ask why you’re so willing to help Mustang? Is it simply an extension of your maternal feelings for him?” Rossi asked. He wasn’t overly surprised to see Miranda, Annie and Roxy’s lips curl up slightly in silent snarls or them to shift like they’d been prepared to launch themselves at him. He was a little more surprised to see Hawkeye lose control of her mask for a moment and allow some confusion and anger to slip through before she caught herself.

 

“Despite the fact that I am his aunt and have raised him since he was a small child, I believe his views for the military are good ones so I will support him as much as I can. There is plenty I wouldn’t help that boy with but I will offer what support and information I can give him to help him rid the military of those like Bradley’s inner group and supporters. Heaven knows that military’s dirty laundry needed to be aired,” Christmas informed him a little stiffly. Rossi didn’t blame her there.

 

“Why do you let your girls help him? Surely they’re putting themselves and your business in danger if word somehow got out that they were spying on the military for your nephew?” Rossi asked and this time, the three women looked offended at the question rather than merely outraged.

 

“They help because they want to. All of them had the opportunity to turn down Roy’s offer without it affecting their standing here or their job. They all know that anytime they feel unsafe or like something might happen that they can tell myself or Roy and we’ll investigate. They can stop sussing information out whenever they want and it again won’t affect their standing or their jobs,” Christmas told him.

 

“We help Roy for the same reasons the Madame does,” Roxy told him, a touch haughtily. “We think he’s trying to accomplish something that could be immensely beneficial to the country and the military and we want to help him get to his goal.” Miranda and Annie nodded emphatically next to her.

 

“Like I said before, I was fifteen when my mother kicked me out and I met Roy a few months after I started as a barmaid here,” Annie said, with a slightly questioning lilt and Rossi nodded to let her know he remembered. “Nearly three months after I met him, he came back for a visit to Central. It just so happened I was working that night and there was one particular customer who had had a few too many whiskeys and was harassing us girls. When he groped me to try and get me to go to bed with him, Roy stepped in. He put himself in between me and the customer and told him to leave before he had him arrested for sexual assault. The man had slurred some insults about how all the women who worked here deserved it and wanted it when Roy knocked him down with one punch before nodding to a couple of bystanders who had been coming to my rescue as well to take the man outside so he could sober up.” Rossi felt the familiar disgust that always crawled up his throat whenever he heard about someone treated in such a manner.

 

“I’m not telling you this to get sympathy or whatever but to make you understand why the ladies of this bar will continue to help Roy as best as we can. My story isn’t unique here and it’s something we’ve come to accept as part of our jobs. But the danger that being discovered is balanced out by the knowledge that Roy will defend us to the best of his capabilities.” Miranda and Roxy had the same conviction on their faces that Annie had in her voice. Rossi spent a few moments writing down notes on what he had just been told.

 

“Alright. I think I’ve asked everything I came here to ask,” Rossi said as he flicked through his notes to double-check. “Thank you very much, Madame Christmas, ladies. I appreciate you allowing me to ask these questions,” Rossi told them as he stood. “If you hear anything of interest regarding this case, please contact Captain Hawkeye as soon as you can,” Rossi asked, not perturbed when none of the women stood when he did.

 

“We’re grateful that someone is looking out for Roy rather than letting the military get away with framing him. If you need to ask anymore questions, come by for a drink,” Christmas winked at him while the other three women gave him suggestive smiles. Rossi allowed a smirk of his own to form on his face.

 

“I may just take you up on that offer,” he told her and she let a small, sharp smile form on her face.

 

“Miranda, would you be kind enough to escort Riza, Lieutenant Ross and Mr. Rossi back outside?” Christmas asked and the red-head elegantly stood.

 

“Of course, Madame,” she said before striding towards the group.

 

“Thank you for your time, Madame Christmas,” Hawkeye said, bowing slightly.

 

“You’re welcome, dear. If you need somewhere to relax for a little bit, come by. Your drink will be on the house,” Christmas told her, a soft look taking over her eyes as Riza nodded.

 

“Thank you, Madame Christmas. That’s very kind of you,” Hawkeye said, allowing a small smile to show.

 

“Anytime, Riza,” Christmas told her, almost dismissively.

 

Miranda looked at them a little expectantly and Hawkeye was quick to step aside to let the red head through so she could lead them out of the bar. The three followed with no complaints as Miranda strode through the establishment with ease and opened the same door they’d entered through.

 

“Thank you for helping Roy. We’ll call your office, Riza, if we hear anything,” Miranda said as they exited the bar.

 

“Thank you, Miranda. You ladies stay safe. I’m sure we’ll have Brigadier-General Mustang out shortly,” Hawkeye reassured her softly.

 

“You bring yourself back anytime, handsome, and bring your friends with you. It’s not often we get visitors from an unknown country.” Miranda winked at Rossi before closing the door firmly. They could hear her walk away before they headed back for their car.

 

“Captain Hawkeye, I have a question for you,” Rossi said when they were nearly level in the building, the car in sight.

 

“Yes?” Hawkeye looked a little perplexed and curious about what he could want to ask him after that interview.

 

“When I mentioned the events in Ishval and Annie rose to his defence, saying that part of him wished Grumman never arranged the pardons even if he was a little grateful for them, your facial expression turned slightly sad. Why?” Rossi asked and Hawkeye sighed a little.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang has always felt guilty for the amount of death and destruction he caused in Ishval. It’s the main reason as to why he’s so protective of the secrets of flame alchemy. In the wrong hands, flame alchemy would be devastating,” Hawkeye told them both, not minding Maria’s curious expression. “For this reason, Brigadier-General Mustang had a plan for when he’s managed to become Fuhrer and put the military on the right path to be able to work cohesively with the majority of the Amestrian civilians and our neighbours. He planned to have everyone who were involved in the Ishvalen Civil War and were still alive by that time tried for war crimes,” she explained but Rossi had latched onto some specific words.

 

“He had planned?” He asked, curious about the past tense. Hawkeye nodded.

 

“If I’m being honest, I don’t know whether this is his plan anymore. It certainly would’ve been if Fuhrer Grumman had simply issued the pardons on his own volition but the fact that he presented each pardon to the Ishvalen elders and accepted their decision to approve or deny a pardon without any argument may have changed Brigadier-General Mustang’s plans.” Hawkeye shrugged nearly imperceptibly. “I don’t think he had ever considered a future where the Ishvalens had forgiven him for his actions and allowed him to be pardoned when they knew that their decision on his pardon wouldn’t have been fought and they could have had him charged with war crimes,” Hawkeye divulged. The short distance between them and the car was crossed in silence and Rossi waited until Hawkeye had unlocked the car before speaking once more.

 

“So, what now?” Rossi asked as he and Maria climbed back into the back of the military car while Hawkeye slid behind the wheel.

 

“Now we head back to the office and wait for Edward and his group to catch up with us,” Hawkeye told them as she pulled the car out of the parking spot and headed into the street. “I’m just glad Madame Christmas seemed to like you,” she told him honestly.

 

“How come?” Rossi asked.

 

“She wouldn’t have told you anything if she didn’t,” came the simple reply.

 

Rossi figured that was something he wouldn’t have been surprised over. He watched out of the window as the buildings flashed by as Hawkeye drove back to the office and he let his mind wander from the interview he’d just conducted to how Edward and his group were going with their searched of the crime scenes.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 –**

Edward and Alphonse didn’t discuss much while in the car. Despite how much Sergeant Browning seemed to be on their side, Ed still didn’t want to discuss anything he’d talked – or overheard, to be more accurate – about in Armstrong’s hospital room. He figured she’d likely skin him alive if he did discuss her attack with someone she didn’t expect him to tell. Then again, she could skin him alive for being so scared of her that he wouldn’t talk about her and Rossi’s discussion in front of Browning. Sergeant Browning didn’t seem to mind the silence and drove them to the site where Lieutenant-General Armstrong was attacked along the most efficient route available so they were there in no time.

 

“Do you want me to wait here, Fullmetal, sir?” Browning asked as they pulled in behind what Ed thought was another military car, though there wasn’t a driver that he could see. Ed did spot the others waiting at the mouth of the alley further up but he couldn’t see anyone who could’ve been a driver like Browning was. Maybe Brookes drove them?

 

“Uh, hold here for a moment. I’ll go see if they want you to stay,” Ed said as he climbed out of the car with Al following right behind him.

 

“Yes, Sir,” Browning said before doing as he was asked while Ed and Al jogged the few metres to the four others. He watched as Ed greeted Brookes with a friendly enough wave before saying something. There was a quick discussion before Ed was heading back his way.

 

“Thanks, Sergeant Browning, but Brookes actually drove them here and his car fits six. You can go do whatever you want,” Ed told him with a thankful smile.

 

“Very well, Sir. If you end up needing another car, don’t hesitate to call the military car pool. They’ll send someone out for you,” Browning told him, offering a salute as best he could while in the car. Ed gave him a look to remind him of what he thought about salutes and Browning immediately dropped it.

 

“Will do. Have a good rest of the afternoon, Sergeant,” Ed said as he took a step from the car to let Browning leave.

 

“You too, Sir,” Browning said before he pulled the car back onto the street and headed away from the crime scene as Ed headed back towards it. 

* * *

 

“How did your interview with Lieutenant-General Armstrong go?” Hotch asked once Ed joined back up with them after dismissing the young Sergeant.

 

“Yeah. She definitely proved she’s still the Ice Queen despite being hospitalised,” Ed told them. Only Brookes had the appropriate reaction; grimacing with sympathy. Al looked at him with sympathy mixed with amusement that Edward didn’t appreciate. “But it was very enlightening in two ways actually. We learned a few more details about the attack that’ll help us a little but I also learned some interesting questioning techniques for victims. The memory recall activity that Rossi used was awesome,” Ed told them. Hotch, Morgan and Reid had some pride on their faces but Brookes looked far more intrigued.

 

“What did you learn?” He asked, straight to the point.

 

“We think the attacker was slighter in build than originally thought. General Armstrong thought she was the same, if not, a little shorter, than herself because of how high she aimed her punch after the attacker missed with the first blow. However, General Armstrong couldn’t recall hearing her attacker move from in front of her to behind her, to block her retreat,” Ed started to explain what they had uncovered when Brookes interrupted.

 

“Couldn’t that mean her attacker had stealth training?” Brookes asked. Ed would’ve said something about the interruption except Brookes looked as surprised at it as everyone else did.

 

“Well, yes, except General Armstrong mentioned hearing a surprised gasp when she stopped once she sensed it was a trap. No one with stealth training would’ve made that mistake,” Ed told him and Brookes nodded in understanding. “Rossi also thinks the attacker isn’t physically fit or hasn’t kept up with their physical training because they had to muffle their breathing rather than be able to control it like Al or I can do after a hard fight. General Armstrong also recalled smelling a perfume or cologne amongst the other smells of the alleyway so Rossi thinks the attacker either forgot they were wearing it or they hadn’t expected Armstrong to survive so they never bothered to cover it up. Armstrong and Rossi have deduced that there’s a possibility that a button has been torn from their uniform. You didn’t find one at any scene, did you?” Ed asked Brookes.

 

“No, I don’t recall one being found. I would’ve been told and had to have gone around to everyone who worked that scene to find out if it was theirs,” Brookes told him.

 

“Okay so we should keep an eye out for it while we search the crime scenes,” Hotch said. “Anything else?” He asked Ed and the blonde nodded, though it was with a slightly confused air to it.

 

“Yeah, General Armstrong also mentioned hearing scratching coming from or near her attacker every time there were sparks coming from the gloves,” Ed told them. “I don’t know about Al, but I’ve never heard Mustang’s gloves scratch when he’s snapped his fingers.” He looked at Al, who looked slightly perplexed.

 

“I honestly don’t know. I’ve never paid that much attention before when I have been there when he’s attacked with alchemy. I think the only times I was exposed to his alchemy before was when he went up against Lust and during Promised Day. Both times there was just so much going on that I had to do that I wasn’t paying attention to him so I really can’t say,” Al told them, a little apologetically.

 

“You mean there’s an alchemy out there you don’t know about?” Morgan asked astonished. Ed frowned at him.

 

“There’s likely several alchemies out there that I don’t know. I still don’t know any healing alchemies, though I’m hoping our treaties with Creta go through so I can go over there and learn their alchemy,” Ed told him. “But Mustang is the only person who uses fire alchemy. He’s the only person that we know of who knows the secrets to it. There’s no published works that talk about it in any kind of depth rather than just theorise about it. Since I’ve never needed to know about fire alchemy for my research into the Stone, I never asked about it. I don’t think either of us have ever thought about asking Mustang about his alchemy. We’ve always had something else to focus on,” Ed told them and Al nodded his agreement with his brother’s words.

 

“Something to ask Mustang about?” Hotch suggested and Ed shrugged.

 

“Should probably ask Miss Riza first. She pays more attention to everything. It’s more likely that Mustang wouldn’t have noticed if his gloves made a scratching noise when he went to snap,” Ed told them, smirking a little.

 

“Brother,” Al complained resignedly. Ed rolled his eyes, to most everyone else’s amusement, but didn’t say anything more on that particular subject.

 

“Something else seemed off to me about the subject of the sparks though,” Ed told them. “General Armstrong said that she heard the scratching and saw the sparks a few times during the attack, like the attacker couldn’t create the flame. I’ve never heard of Mustang not being able to create a flame immediately unless his gloves were damaged or out of commission,” Ed said to them. “Trust me, I had plenty of higher-ups trying to poach me out from under Mustang’s control brought up every time they’d heard his alchemy had failed to try and sway me from his command. I think they thought that as an alchemist, I’d be, like, annoyed that my CO failed with his alchemy at times. I thought it was hilarious and made sure to bring those stories up to annoy Mustang the next time I went in for a mission briefing,” Ed told them. Morgan and Reid grinned at him while Al looked a touch pale, like he would have rather not been reminded of some of those moments.

 

“Of course you did,” Morgan said, shaking his head while he grinned.

 

“Was there anything else you found out from Armstrong?” Hotch asked, getting the subject back on track. Ed frowned in thought, casting his mind back to the conversation he’d only walked out of half an hour ago.

 

“Ah, the only other thing was that there was nothing distinctive about the uniform. No medals, rips or stains. The only thing that stood out to her was the fact that she could see the dress shirt underneath which is what made Rossi and her think a button was ripped off during one of the fights,” Ed told them before nodding to Brookes. “The indistinctive uniform was already part of your report so it really isn’t anything new,” Ed said.

 

“I really need to sit in on you guys interrogating a suspect or interviewing a victim,” Brookes said in awe once Ed had finished his report.

 

“We’ll see whether an opportunity presents itself for you to join us,” Hotch told him before glancing at the alley. “Shall we?” He asked and everyone nodded.

 

“So, what are we looking for? No offense to you guys but I’m pretty sure there isn’t much you’ll be able to find without the advantages you’re used to,” Ed said as they took a few steps into the alley.

 

“Well, we’re not strictly looking for more evidence, aside from the button you’ve mentioned. What we’re looking for is signs to show how things happened. It helps us get into the unsub’s head better if we know what restrictions they faced and freedoms they actually had. You two,” Reid gestured to the two brothers, “will hopefully help us if there is any sign of alchemy having been used recently and what it might mean to the case,” he explained. Ed and Al looked intrigued.

 

“And Brookes?” Ed asked, noting the shift of Brookes’ shoulders to show the man had heard and was listening.

 

“As someone who has been to all six crime scenes, he has the most knowledge on them out of all of us. We’ll be able to do something similar to what Rossi did with Lieutenant-General Armstrong and ask him probing questions to see if there’s anything that connects these scenes that seemed insignificant at the time that he may have dismissed. He can help us by telling us exactly where something was found or how the victim was positioned in correspondence with a piece of evidence,” Reid explained and Ed nodded.

 

“Cool. Hopefully we find something,” Ed muttered to himself. They’d only had the BAU here for a day and a half so he knew he really shouldn’t have been expecting the case to be solved by now but he kind of wished it was. The longer Mustang spent in the holding cells, the more opportunities the generals would have to try and make sure he never left them. Ed nearly bumped into Morgan when they halted just as they got to the dumpster.

 

“Did you see Armstrong before she was moved from the ground, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes?” Hotch asked but the questioned man shook his head. “Edward?” The blonde hummed in answer. “Did Lieutenant-General Armstrong mention anything that could help us figure out her position?” He asked.

 

“Uh, she mentioned feeling something slip under her boots when she tried to stand. Like newspaper or cardboard. And she told us the door opened up behind her so she wasn’t facing this building. But I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that that pool of blood is from her head wound,” Ed said, pointing to the patch of dried, flaking blood in front of him. Hotch gave him a flat look as he, Morgan and Reid moved forward to investigate.

 

“So, we think she ended up here,” Morgan said after a few moments of looking around. “You can see the scuff marks on the cardboard here and she wouldn’t have been hit by the door if her head ended up here.” Morgan gestured to the two spots. “That means that she would’ve been standing roughly here when she went down. Since we know she only spun before striking at her attacker, this tells us she would’ve stopped in the same spot once she realised this was a trap,” Morgan surmised. Ed and Al nodded. It did make sense after all.

 

“That’s great but I’m not sure I understand why her positioning is relevant to this attack?” Brookes asked, sounding immensely apologetic as he did so. None of the BAU members present looked offended by his questioning.

 

“Since this is where the attack occurred, we now know what obstacles the attacker had faced,” Hotch told them. “The dumpster, for example, could have aided in creating a choking point between it and General Armstrong herself. The attacker would have had to be very agile to pass through there without hitting the dumpster or alerting Armstrong to their intentions. Either that, or they were very familiar with this alleyway and had spent a lot of time in this alley before. We know it wasn’t well-lit since Armstrong never spotted her attacker and she couldn’t identify them before she lost consciousness so it’s not as though the attacker could have used the lighting to help them. Did you ask the workers in the businesses who use these dumpsters if they’d seen anyone hanging around in the past few days?” Hotch asked Brookes.

 

“We did ask if they’d seen anything suspicious but no one mentioned anything about seeing someone spending a lot of time in this alley,” Brookes told them. Hotch nodded like he’d expected this.

 

“So, the attacker was likely agile or just lucky. In this profession, we don’t really believe in luck though,” Morgan told them with a smirk. “So, now we know our unsub is petite and agile. That indicates rigorous training at some point in their life,” Morgan said.

 

“So, if we find an alternate suspect, we can exclude or include them based on if they’ve had the appropriate training at some point in their lives?” Brookes asked and Morgan gave him a ‘kind of’ look.

 

“As long as they’ve had it in the last few years or have had to take some kind of exam every so often that tests those skillsets,” Morgan said. “If they had it in their childhood and they’re around yours or Mustang’s ages, they likely won’t be able to rely on it as much as if, say, Edward and Alphonse hadn’t done any training since the moment they left their teacher’s tutelage before deciding to use it again for the first time today,” Morgan explained and Brookes nodded, writing this all down in a notebook he had pulled out from his jacket.

 

“Edward, Alphonse, you can start looking whenever you’d like,” Hotch told them.

 

Ed nodded and nudged Al forward, heading a few metres further into the alley before taking opposite sides of the alleyway and searching a wall each for signs of alchemy and signs on how old that alchemy was. They kept a critical eye open on the bricks and the surface they were standing on as they worked, tuning out everything except each other and their work. On the odd occasion, one of them would call the other brother over to see what they thought to what they’d found. It normally ended with the summoned brother shaking his head and returning to his wall and them moving on but there was a moment when Al found something that had him calling Ed over with a far more excited manner than he had before.

 

Brookes had wanted to move forward to hear what they were saying more clearly but Morgan stopped him physically with an arm across his chest. When he looked up at Morgan questioningly, it was Reid who answered. “If Al is anything like Ed, they won’t appreciate their train of thought being interrupted by us heading over there. They’ll tell us whether they have a working theory they want to tell us about or they’ll move on if the theory doesn’t pan out,” Reid explained. Brookes slightly irritated expression slipped into one of understanding as they watched the two blondes chattering rapidly, gesturing to the wall next to them. 

* * *

 

“What is it, Alphonse?” Ed asked as he headed over to his younger brother. This time, Al sounded like he was really onto something so Ed was a little excited.

 

“Do you see it, brother?” Al asked once Ed had joined him. Ed looked at the area of the wall Al was pointing at excitedly. He yanked off his left glove and touched the transmutation marks he saw with near reverence. “It doesn’t look too old either, right?” Al asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Yeah, you can tell that it’s fairly recent because it’s missing the grime that the rest of the bricks are covered with. See? Feel here.” Ed indicated and Al did as he was told. “Your hand comes away cleaner than it would if this section was as dirty as the rest of the wall. It feels a lot smoother too, the grouting. Did you feel that?” Ed asked and Al nodded.

 

“Yeah, when the alchemist transmuted the wall, they must have fixed the cracks that had come from aging in the grout,” Al said as he felt the surface once more, looking up as he spoke. “It doesn’t look like the transmutation ran up the length of the wall. I can’t see any marks much further up, maybe only two metres from the ground?” Al said. Ed strained his neck and eyes as he looked up before nodding.

 

“I agree. It doesn’t go very high up at all. No taller than Major Armstrong,” Ed told him and Al nodded. “Did you check the ground?” Ed asked suddenly and Al looked confused, like he wasn’t able to follow his brother’s train of thought.

 

“No, not yet,” Al said and mimicked Ed when the elder Elric crouched and studied the cobblestones with his brother.

 

“Here. Do you see this?” Ed asked as he pointed out what had caught his eye. Al’s eyes widened as he took it in.

 

“Oh, yeah. See, it goes out this far,” he said, pointing where the transmutation marks disappeared, less than half a metre away from the edge of the wall. “What do you think the alchemist was doing?” Al asked as they both straightened.

 

“I think they were creating a shield,” Ed told him. “I think the alchemist transmuted this section of wall,” Ed patted the part he was talking about absentmindedly, “and extended it out into a barrier to hide themselves behind,” Ed said, standing up, barely noticing as Al mimicked him once more.

 

Ed moved around to stand in front of the connected transmutation marks and gestured for Al to stand next to them and up against the wall while he studied what he saw. He glanced over at the agents and Brookes, not really seeing them but looking at the scene he imagined. Even though there was still an hour or so before sunset was due to even start in Central, the alley was already dark. He and Al had only been able to see what they had thanks to their training. Any other person would’ve missed the marks completely. He looked between the spot Al had found and the alleyway before calling over the four remaining members of their group to join them.

 

“What’s up, blondie?” Morgan asked once they joined him.

 

“Do you see where Al is standing?” Ed asked and the four looked at him like it was obvious because Al didn’t exactly blend in to the background. “An alchemist stood there, sometime in the last few days – a week at the most – and hid behind a wall they’d transmuted that stood about two metres high and extended out to here.” Ed tapped with his foot to indicate where he meant.

 

“Oh, that’s clever,” Reid said, immediately realising what Ed was saying.

 

“Wanna share with the class, boy wonder?” Morgan asked, nudging Reid’s shoulder.

 

“They created a barrier to shield themselves from their victim to ensure they didn’t see them until it was too late,” Reid told him, swatting his hand away. “They likely transmuted it only a couple of hours before the attack to lessen the chances of someone familiar with this alleyway from noticing it. They then set the bait and laid in wait for their victim. When General Armstrong didn’t pass by the barrier – which likely would’ve been their signal to attack – they would’ve bee surprised, hence the gasp, and had to adapt which would explain why this attack wasn’t successful like the others. They no longer had the element of surprise on their side,” Reid explained and both Elric brothers were nodding in agreement.

 

“Exactly. I have a feeling that Brookes and his team were focused solely on the area where General Armstrong was found, right?” Ed asked. “You guys had a living victim. You would have been anxious to check on her as soon as possible and your team would’ve been concentrating on where the evidence was likely to have been; right where General Armstrong was since this attack was interrupted before it could’ve been completed.” Brookes nodded.

 

“I didn’t attend the scene right away. Generals Widdon and Combes sent for me right away once we found out that Lieutenant-General Armstrong was attacked. I had ordered my team out there right away but when they arrived there were only two military police officers guarding the entrance with orders to not permit anyone except another military member entrance,” Brookes told them.

 

“So, it’s not completely out of the question that the attacker waited further down the alley until the scene had cleared, waited for the guards to be distracted and transmute the wall back into its original state, right?” Morgan asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“I dunno. Depends on how dedicated they were to their jobs whether the guards noticed anything. It’s certainly plausible since Brookes isn’t confused that there isn’t a wall here, indicating no one on his team saw it or mentioned it,” Ed told them. “I would’ve thought the light from the transmutation would’ve gotten their attention because that dumpster would’ve only blocked some of the light but if they managed to miss an entire human sneaking onto the scene again, I doubt a bit of light would’ve caught their attention.” Ed scowled a little at that.

 

“Wouldn’t that be a risk though?” Hotch asked and Ed raised a questioning brow. “During your first mission with us, you told us that you were one of a few people who didn’t need to draw a physical array to transmute. Wouldn’t it have been a risk for the attacker to count on the guards not glancing into the alleyway while they snuck back down to the wall, drew out their array, activated it and gotten out of sight?” Hotch asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“They could’ve had their array drawn out already. Maybe a cuff or a pendant they could place on the ground to activate,” Ed said before frowning. “I think Harding had a cuff he wore on his right wrist but I’m not sure if you guys ever saw it. He was pretty intent on using the stone,” Ed told them.

 

“What if the guards were distracted by something, Brother?” Al suggested and everyone turned to him. “If the attacker caused something to happen to get the guards attention from alleyway for a few minutes, it would give them the time and sense of security that they wouldn’t get caught,” he explained and Ed nodded.

 

“You might be onto something there,” Ed told him, nudging Al in the side and causing the youngest Elric to laugh as he had to adjust his stance to keep his balance.

 

“Do you know who was stationed to guard the scene until your team arrived?” Morgan asked Brookes, who shook his head.

 

“No, my team arrived before I did and I didn’t see anyone else here. I’m assuming my team dismissed them when they arrived,” Brookes told them. “I can ask my team when we get back to the office and arrange for them to be available tomorrow or the day after at the very latest,” Brookes offered. Hotch nodded his acceptance of that plan.

 

“What else do we need to do here?” Ed asked, bringing the attention back to himself. “We’re running out of daylight and I know you guys wanted to see the fourth and fifth crime scenes.” No one missed the slight wince on Ed’s face when he mentioned the fifth crime scene but no one said anything about Ed maybe sitting out of that one. While everyone bar Brookes has had first-hand experience with Edward’s legendary stubbornness, Brookes had been privy to several stories about it and knew better than to try.

 

“You didn’t happen to find the voice recorder or the pipe used in the attack?” Morgan asked but Ed and Al shook their heads.

 

“The pipe was found nearby and logged for evidence,” Brookes told them, sounding a little confused as to how they didn’t know that. “It was included in my report on Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s attack, along with her signed statement.” He frowned when Hotch and Morgan looked a little surprised by that information.

 

“He did. I don’t think you guys have read that report in its entirety yet,” Reid told them and Brookes let out a silent sigh of relief. For a moment there, he’d thought he’d accidentally left that information out.

 

“No voice recorder though?” Morgan asked and Brookes shook his head. The Elrics shook their heads again and Morgan nodded. “Yeah, I guess if they had time to fix the wall, they had time to grab the recorder before it was found.” He sighed a little. It would’ve been nice if they hadn’t managed to grab one of the biggest bits of evidence they could use but Morgan guessed that would’ve made things too easy.

 

“So, anything else?” Ed pressed after a couple of seconds, ignoring Al’s hiss of ‘patience!’ from next to him.

 

“No, I don’t think so. Not unless Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes has anything to add?” Hotch asked but Brookes shook his head.

 

“No, the only reasons we were able to connect this attack with the murders was because of the victim herself, the location, General Armstrong’s statement and, quite frankly, the timing,” Brookes told them. “We’re still waiting on test results from each of the victims to see if there was any sort of accelerant used at the scenes or any other kind of evidence we could use to connect these crimes together,” Brookes divulged and the BAU looked a little surprised.

 

“You’re still waiting for the lab results?” Morgan asked, mentally casting his mind back through all the files he’d read and realised he actually hadn’t come across any sort of lab report.

 

“We only have the one functioning lab dedicated to this sort of work in Central since the other one was destroyed during Promised Day and we lost several techs due to collateral damage during the battle. Fuhrer Grumman wanted to focus more of the rebuilding efforts to help the citizens who lost businesses or residences and any healthcare practise that was destroyed before focusing on things like the second forensic laboratory,” Brookes said, a little defensively. Morgan made a semi-placating gesture towards Brookes.

 

“If you guys wanna talk to the lab techs, we can do that, like, tomorrow or the day after, whenever we’ve got some time but for now, let’s head to the next crime scene,” Ed told them, getting slightly more impatient now. Days may be long in Central but it didn’t mean they lasted forever and he knew they wouldn’t be able to keep looking after dark. At this rate, they might still get to Summers crime scene tonight but it’d be a close thing.

 

“Good idea. We might do that when we go talk to the coroner. I assume the lab would be near the morgue?” Hotch asked and Brookes made a ‘kind of’ hand gesture.

 

“It’s about a five minute walk away but yeah,” he told them and Hotch nodded.

 

“Then let’s head to the next crime scene. I think we’ve gotten everything we can from here,” Hotch told them. 

* * *

 

Ed would be first to admit that while he did memorise the addresses of where each victim was found, he never realised the distance between each of them. Or in this case, lack thereof. It didn’t take them long to get to the site where Andrews had been murdered by car and Ed estimated it likely wouldn’t have taken longer than 10 minutes walking between Armstrong’s crime scene and Andrews’. He would, however, never admit how much he didn’t want to be here. Andrews had been a genuinely good man and Ed knew half his anger over Andrews death was not just because it was pointless but it also because Andrews was such a good person. It wasn’t like the killer hadn’t decided to take out people who were both an enemy of Mustang’s but also potentially the military or the public. Andrews had only been killed to further the killer’s revenge against Mustang and Edward couldn’t forgive them for that.

 

He barely noticed when they pulled up and only the nudge from Alphonse broke the elder Elric out of his thoughts. Al had a knowing, worried look in his eye but he kept silent, knowing Edward wouldn’t like him bringing something like this up in front of other people, but he did offer a strong smile that Ed returned. The team climbed out of the car and headed to the crime scene while they waited for Brookes to finish securing the car against anyone foolish enough to try anything to it in broad daylight. Once he was done, Brookes was by their side in no time and leading them through the alleyway. Ed noticed they were further in this alleyway than they were in the one Armstrong was attacked in.

 

“Am I correct in the assumption that the rest of the murders occurred as far down into the alleyway as this one?” Hotch asked and Brookes nodded.

 

“Yeah, we think Lieutenant-General Armstrong stopped maybe two-thirds the usual distance. Not surprising since she admitted she sensed the trap fairly quickly,” Brookes told them. The BAU members simply nodded before taking a look around the crime scene, as they had done with the last one.

 

They muttered comments to one another that were too low for the Amestrians to hear and Ed found himself growing bored the longer they took. Of course, his younger brother was quick to notice the signs of impatience creeping into Ed’s body language.

 

“Patience, Brother,” Al whispered to him. “You know this sort of thing takes time.” Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“Have you ever known me to be patient about anything?” Ed hissed back, only half-serious. This time, Al was the one to roll his eyes and nudge his brother in the side. Ed growled at him but refrained from retaliating. For now.

 

“Alright, Ed, Al, do your thing,” Morgan said after another ten minutes of silence and Ed really had to hold back in his enthusiasm to get to work.

 

After carefully avoiding the scorch marks still marking where Andrews died, Ed chose the wall that was opposite the spot where Andrews was killed. He felt bad about leaving Al to investigate that side of the alleyway but Al had taken it immediately, giving Ed a look that told him to not bother arguing with him and Ed was a little ashamed at the lack of a fight he put up. They did the same thing they’d done at the last crime scene and Ed wasn’t overly surprised when he was the one to find the marks in between the agents and Brookes and the marks where Andrews had died.

 

“Al, over here,” Ed called and his brother immediately stopped what he was doing to investigate what Ed had found.

 

“Yeah, I think this is where the wall was made as well. There are marks on the floor here, see?” Al said and Ed nodded before he waved the others over to join them.

 

“We found where the wall was made,” Ed said in explanation. The BAU started analysing the crime scene once more now that they had the information.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes, would you mind telling us how the body was positioned?” Hotch asked and Brookes stepped forward.

 

“Andrews was found face up and semi-slumped against that wall,” Brookes said, pointing to the wall Al had been investigating. “His left shoulder and head were resting on the wall and his feet were facing the mouth of the alleyway,” Brookes told them. Morgan and Reid looked a little surprised at this. Hotch didn’t show the surprise but Ed was willing to bet that he was as well. The question was _why_ they were shocked by that.

 

“We saw the photos that showed his positioning but we wanted to make certain he hadn’t been moved after death because we found signs of a struggle,” Morgan answered the unasked question almost immediately. Brookes looked surprised, which meant he and his team hadn’t noticed, and took a slight step forward before catching himself.

 

“What signs?” Ed asked curiously. Reid invited him forward and Ed joined him but stopped as close as he could stand to be near the scorch marks.

 

“There’s scuff marks on the ground, likely made by leather boots, and if you look here,” Reid pointed to blood drips on the floor and blood spray up the wall Andrews had died against, “I think you’ll find that Major-General Andrews was likely struck across the face after the initial strike to the head from behind. I think he didn’t go down after that first initial strike, turned around to fight his opponent, maybe got a couple of hits in but was knocked down by the strike to the face before being knocked out completely.” Reid walked him through and Ed would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a bit queasy imagining what Andrews had gone through.

 

“What if the blood isn’t from Andrews?” Ed asked and Reid looked a little contemplative.

 

“It _is_ possible it could be from the attacker but that would mean that Andrews and his opponent were face-to-face for the initial attack. That would mean the attacker would have had to manage to switch their positions or dragged Andrews and position him where he was found but I feel like that is improbable,” Reid told him.

 

“How come?” Ed asked, intrigued about the thought process Reid was obviously using.

 

“Well, mainly because of what we know of the unsub, thanks to General Armstrong, is that they’re petitely built and fast. They also didn’t manage to knock General Armstrong out in one blow and the evidence here suggests they couldn’t do the same to Andrews. This tells me they’re not physically strong either. This is obviously not someone who utilises their training on a regular basis like you and Alphonse or keeps up with a training regime in the gym or something similar. If that were the case, it’s likely that Andrews wouldn’t have had the chance to strike back and Armstrong wouldn’t have been able to try getting back up,” Reid told him, obviously excited by the fact that his audience actually wanted to know all of this.

 

“So, you think that means we’re looking for someone who isn’t taller than General Armstrong and has some sort of training but they haven’t done any kind of training for a while which has resulted in them not being fit enough to swing a knock-out blow?” Ed summed up. “And you figured this out because of the blood splatter?” Reid flushed at the awe in Ed’s voice.

 

“Well, the blood splatter only helped me figure it out. There was plenty of other facts that I could use to draw in on this conclusion,” Reid told him. “It helps having an eidetic memory,” Reid half-chuckled.

 

“I bet. I’m just freakishly good at remembering things. Mostly anything related to alchemy but I still forget a lot of stuff,” Ed told him with a laugh.

 

“What are you two geniuses talking about over here?” Morgan asked, ruffling Ed’s hair before giving Reid the same treatment. Both geniuses scowled at him as they immediately tried to flatten their hair again.

 

“Reid was telling me what he thought happened between Andrews and the unsub. He thinks they aren’t physically strong since they couldn’t knock Andrews or Armstrong down in one blow,” Ed told him.

 

“How did the subject of our unsubs strength come up in this conversation?” Morgan asked, some bewilderment in his voice.

 

“Well, Reid reckons that blood came from Andrews and when I asked why it couldn’t have come from the unsub, he told me he didn’t think they would be able to physically manoeuvre someone Andrews size when they were unconscious because they weren’t able to knock Andrews or Armstrong out in one hit.” Ed summed up for him and Al, who had decided to join them to make sure Ed didn’t retaliate for the hair-ruffling in a violent manner.

 

“Fair enough,” Morgan said, nodding in agreement with Reid’s assessment.

 

“That’s really amazing how you could figure that out so quickly. You’re almost as quick as Brother when he’s figuring out alchemy!” Al exclaimed and exchanged a grin with Morgan when Ed and Reid immediately blushed.

 

“You shut your face, Alphonse,” Ed muttered, slapping his brother’s shoulder while Morgan stifled his laughter.

 

“Was a weapon or voice recorder recovered here?” Hotch’s question had the four of them turn to Brookes to see his answer.

 

“No, we didn’t find anything here. We scoured the entire alleyway and the adjoining one further up ahead. We were pretty desperate to try and figure out who was behind these crimes, other than Mustang,” Brookes admitted. “We’d actually only just wrapped up the search when I got word that Lieutenant-General Armstrong had been attacked. That’s why my team couldn’t attend the scene right away,” Brookes told them.

 

“Was the wall transmuted the same way as the other one?” Hotch asked the Elrics.

 

“Well, as far as we can tell,” Ed said. “Most alchemists don’t leave a signature on their work. Any alchemist trying to not have their work spotted certainly wouldn’t so the alchemist in this case wouldn’t have but I think it’s extremely unlikely that two similar walls were transmuted inside a week in alleyways where someone died or was attacked,” Ed told him.

 

“So, you think the unsub is an alchemist?” Morgan asked and both Ed and Al shrugged before nodding.

 

“The transmutation marks at Armstrong’s scene could have just been coincidence. An alchemist doing a patch job on the floor and wall for the person who owned the business,” Ed said before Al cut in smoothly.

 

“But finding the same marks indicating that the same transmutation was used here in this alley around the same time?” Al said. “That’s not a coincidence.” Both brothers nodded.

 

“You know it’s weird how the two of you finish each other’s thoughts like that, right?” Morgan asked conversationally. Ed and Al just gave him a matching grin that had him rolling his eyes.

 

“Is there anything else we need to do here, Hotch?” Reid asked, bringing everyone’s attention to the man in charge of them all.

 

“Is there anything else you can tell us about this scene, Brookes? Anything that seemed off or weird to you?” Hotch asked, ignoring Reid’s question for the moment.

 

“No, I don’t think so,” Brookes said after a long moment of contemplation. He sounded very apologetic about his answer too.

 

“Alright. Let’s move on to the next crime scene,” Hotch said, leading them back towards the car. 

* * *

 

“I don’t think we actually asked, Ed, but was it public or military knowledge that you and Brigadier-General Mustang were ready to press charges against Henley?” Hotch asked from the front passenger seat of the car.

 

“I don’t think so,” Ed said, screwing his face up in thought. “I wasn’t paying much attention to that side of things. I focused more on gathering that information we needed but I can’t remember hearing any rumours about it or being questioned by anyone who was curious about it so I really don’t think it was,” Ed told them.

 

“Yeah, I don’t remember hearing anything whenever I was at Central Command,” Alphonse piped up and Brookes gave a hapless shrug when he was asked.

 

“I was too focused on the investigation to listen to rumours. The first time I found out Henley was even being investigated was when a Lieutenant who attended her crime scene told me about it. I certainly haven’t heard anything about there being an arrest in her very near future during the investigation. Or, I hadn’t until I spoke with Brigadier-General Mustang and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric –“ an angry growl from the blonde reverberated through the car “- er, Edward, that is,” Brookes corrected himself and heard a satisfied huff from the back seat followed by Alphonse whispering Ed’s name in a berating tone.

 

“How far off pressing charges were you when Henley was killed?” Hotch asked, ignoring the grins from his fellow BAU members he could see in the rear-view mirror as Edward ignored his brother’s whispered lecture.

 

“Ah, I think the bastard mentioned something about another week or so. So, like, maybe a week or two?” Ed told them with a shrug. Hotch wasn’t certain if he imagined the sound of a palm hitting a head but he had a feeling it would’ve come from Alphonse face-palming. The sound of poorly-supressed snickering coming from two of his best BAU agents had Hotch thinking he hadn’t imagined the sound.

 

“We’re here,” Brookes said, saving either Ed from some good-natured teasing or the other three from Ed’s vengeance.

 

They went through the same routine of getting out of the car as they had done at Andrews crime scene. This crime scene was nearly a week old now and Ed had mentally gone through his whole week, trying to remember if it had rained at all but came up with nothing. Once Brookes joined them, they headed into the alley and Ed was relieved to see the scorch marks still there. While rain wouldn’t wash away transmutation marks, it would wash away soot and blood left at a crime scene.

 

Hotch, Morgan and Reid immediately started doing the same thing they’d done at the previous two crime scenes, looking around and talking to each other, comparing notes and whatnot. Ed was far more patient this time around since he had a rough idea of how long it would take for them to analyse the scene. As Ed looked at the scorch mark, right against the wall of the alley, like Henley had been laid down rather than left where she fell, he realised he didn’t feel anywhere near as bad as he had at the last crime scene. Sure, he didn’t like Henley and thought she was a bitch who belonged in jail but he certainly wouldn’t have wished this kind of death on anyone which is why he was surprised at the lack of empathy he had for her in this moment.

 

“Ed, Al, you guys good to do what you need to do?” Morgan called, breaking Ed out of his thoughts.

 

“Yeah, sure,” Ed said, pulling Al forward by the elbow to get him moving before they split up and took separate walls once more.

 

They decided to not start too far from the scorch marks since the evidence from the previous crime scenes had shown the marks not to be too far behind where the attacker had planned the attack to happen. Even at Armstrong’s crime scene, the marks hadn’t been too much farther into the alleyway than Armstrong herself had been. However, neither of them found any sign of any kind of alchemy in that alleyway that was less than a month old.

 

When they’d searched the alleyway until they were back level with the agents and Brookes again, they simply met in the middle and had a whispered conversation that ended with Ed shaking his head and the both of them heading further into the alleyway before starting their search again. The agents and Brookes watched them curiously as they made their way slowly back to their original starting points. By the end of their search, both Ed and Al were looking pissed off, though Ed’s expression was definitely the most obvious to read.

 

“What’s wrong?” Hotch asked as the boys came to a halt, Ed standing just past the scorch mark and Al in line with him.

 

“There’s no recent transmutation marks,” Al told them.

 

“So, does that mean there wasn’t a transmuted wall in this alleyway?” Brookes asked and Ed nodded. There was a full minute where no one said anything before Brookes decided to voice what he felt everyone was thinking. “Does that mean we screwed up somewhere and Henley wasn’t one of the victims of this attacker? Was she killed by a copycat?” Brookes asked, looking like he really wasn’t sure what he wanted the answer to be.

 

“I don’t know. I seriously don’t know,” Ed told him, sighing as he leaned up against the wall and frowned in thought. Al was left to walk over to join the rest of them if he wanted to listen to what they were discussing. Al was rather surprised when none of the BAU agents tried to interrupt Ed to see what he was thinking about and was even more surprised when they stopped Brookes from asking with only a shake of their heads. “It makes no sense! Henley had to be a victim! She had a problem with Mustang and was loud about it! She was killed in the exact same way as everyone else and the timeline makes sense with her in it!” Ed exclaimed suddenly, nearly ripping his hair out in annoyance. Al felt all eyes on him and let out an internal sigh.

 

“So, why wouldn’t the attacker need to transmute a wall to hide behind?” Al asked, hoping to help his brother think it through without getting more angered at himself because that would only result in an irate Edward and no answers or theories.

 

“Well, obviously because they decided they didn’t need to hide from Henley,” Ed told him, a touch exasperated. Al didn’t look offended by his behaviour.

 

“Obviously but why?” Al asked, throwing back his own snark in the question. His question had Ed first glare at him before the blonde actually stopped to think about it.

 

“Why _wouldn’t_ they use the same lure on Henley?” Ed muttered to himself. Al looked amused as they watched Ed murmur to himself, far too quietly and too quickly for them to follow the seemingly unconnected strings of thoughts coming from Edward. They all witnessed the moment where something seemed to have clicked for Edward.

 

“She was a complete bitch!” Ed told them suddenly, startling Brookes slightly with his almost excited tone. “General Armstrong told us that the lure for her was someone pleading for help. She might not exactly come across as the first person you’d imagine would come to your aid but she would still at the very least check on the person. General Andrews definitely would’ve gone to investigate if he’d heard someone calling for help,” Ed explained, looking ready to start pacing, except that there was no room unless he wanted to bump into the others “But Henley was a paranoid bitch, especially when we were getting closer to arresting her. She would _never_ have gone into an alley to help someone. She just wouldn’t have,” Ed told them.

 

“So, why would she have come into this alleyway?” Reid asked, having been the first to voice what the others where thinking.

 

“Maybe the attacker still lured her but used a different bait?” Al suggested and Ed nodded.

 

“Probably. Maybe they said they had a way to get me and Mustang off her back or something,” Ed shrugged. “Whatever it was, Henley would’ve seen their face or, at the very least, heard their voice. She wouldn’t have followed me or Mustang into this alley any sooner than I would’ve followed Envy or Moore down here,” Ed told them.

 

“So, you think she was still lured down here, just not the way we presume everyone else was; by a voice calling for help?” Brookes asked and Ed nodded.

 

“It would explain why there’s no transmutation marks in this alley to show a wall was made then put back. The attacker wouldn’t have needed to hide behind it if their plan was to tell Henley something enticing enough to get her to follow them,” Ed told them and Al nodded in agreement.

 

“We should assume that not every crime scene will have those marks as well rather than assume they do,” Al commented. He expanded his answer when everyone – except Ed and Reid – looked at him with confusion. “Captain Bryce was completely drunk by all accounts. I doubt the attacker would’ve had to try very hard to lead him into an alleyway if he wasn’t passed out in one anyway. I think that Major Pardi and Colonel Summers would’ve investigated someone calling for help, like Generals Andrews and Armstrong did, but they could have also been baited with something like General Henley was,” Al explained and he watched as the realisation dawned on Hotch, Morgan and Brookes.

 

“Wait, what kind of alchemy are they using anyway?” Morgan asked suddenly, having realised they hadn’t actually asked yet.

 

“It’s just a basic earth array,” Ed told them. “Every decent alchemist knows earth arrays. It’s one of the easiest ones to learn and it’s the most frequently used. I guess it’s the array that acts as the basis of all alchemists’ knowledge. Everything else you learn depends on how well you learnt an earth array. If you can’t do one, don’t do any other kind of alchemy. If you struggle with it, you’re not a strong alchemist. You get where I’m going with this. My point is that we can assume the unsub is an alchemist – and a half-decent one at that – but we wouldn’t be able to narrow the list down by asking who knows how to use a basic earth array because all of them would be able to.” Ed knew he rambled a little but he got his point across eventually.

 

“So, the fact that they can use earth arrays won’t help us?” Morgan asked and Ed gave him an apologetic nod. “Okay. Brookes, how was Henley found?” Morgan asked, moving the subject along.

 

“Are you asking how her body was positioned or who found her?” Brookes queried.

 

“The first one,” Morgan said and Brookes flicked back through his mental files before answering.

 

“She was found back against that wall.” He pointed to said wall. “She was on her side, heading pointing into the alley and feet pointing to the mouth of it. Her purse had been found a few feet away from her, on the opposite side of the alley. If it hadn’t been for the state she was found in, you would’ve thought she’d simply fallen asleep,” Brookes told them as Al headed over to the scorch marks to look. Ed was close behind his brother.

 

“Huh,” was all Morgan had to say before he took a few steps forward and turned so he was facing the scorch marks as well. Ed glanced at him before focusing on what Al was doing when he realised Morgan didn’t need them for anything.

 

“What is it, Morgan?” Hotch asked as Morgan made swinging motions with his arms, like he was using a bat to hit something.

 

“I think our unsub is a leftie, Hotch,” Morgan revealed after a moment.

 

“What makes you say that?” Brookes asked curiously.

 

“Reid, did Henley suffer a blunt-forced wound to the head?” Morgan asked, ignoring Brookes for the moment.

 

“Yes, to her right temple. Similar to Lieutenant-General Armstrong,” Reid answered immediately. Morgan nodded like his theory had just been proven.

 

“I thought so,” Morgan said before explaining further to Brookes. “I wasn’t sure to start with because it could’ve been possible that when Armstrong dodged the first blow, the unsub simply swung again immediately,” Morgan said and could see Brookes wasn’t really sure what he was talking about. “Okay, say I’m the unsub and Reid is General Armstrong.” Reid didn’t look thrilled to be a part of the demonstration but he did follow Morgan’s prompts to turn around so his back was facing Morgan. “General Armstrong said she ducked her opponents first attack but she never specified which direction the attack came from. Most people would assume the attack happened like this.” Morgan swung his invisible pipe from right to left, in an upward swing, showing how it would connect with Reid’s right temple. “But since Armstrong dodged the attack and turned to face her attacker,” Morgan mimicked the blow missing the mark so the ‘pipe’ was pointing towards the ground on his left while Reid turned to look at Morgan with a bored expression, “I assumed the attacker had simply attacked again immediately.” Morgan brought the invisible weapon back up again, this time left to right, showing Brookes the glancing blow it would’ve made to Reid’s right temple.

 

“That makes sense but it doesn’t prove the attacker is left-handed,” Brookes pointed out. Morgan nodded before straightening up a little.

 

“You’re right,” he told the lieutenant-colonel. “However, Henley was facing her attacker when they struck. Since she fell into the alley rather than the opposite way, we know she was struck in the right temple. The autopsy report supports that. This means that the unsub had to strike at Henley from their left.” Morgan demonstrated the swing again, swinging his ‘pipe’ from left to right. “If the unsub was right-handed, they would’ve swung from their right side and hit Henley in her left temple. Since Henley was hit in her right temple, we can surmise the unsub is left-handed,” Morgan said, relaxing out of his stance. He noticed Ed had been watching them out of the corner of his eye but the blonde was now focused back on his brother.

 

“Mustang is right-handed. If the unsub is left-handed, this means we might have enough to cause reasonable doubt,” Brookes said excitedly only to look shocked when Ed sighed a little before straightening up. Al did as well, indicating they were done with the scorch mark.

 

“Mustang is ambidextrous,” Ed told them sullenly. “No one knows that because he prefers using his right hand to do paperwork. It should be obvious since he can use both hands just as well during a fight but yeah, people just assume he’s right-handed. Mustang’s never bothered to correct them since it means he could use it to his advantage at some stage. No one except for Miss Riza and the rest of his team knows about it,” Ed explained.

 

“How do you know about it?” Reid asked, catching what Ed had implied.

 

“Accident. I was in the office when Mustang called in and tried to say he couldn’t work because he’d damaged his wrist. Miss Riza told him that she knew he could sign his name just as well with his left hand so he’d better be in soon to deal with his work or she’d come to his house and drag him in.” Ed grinned at the memory. “The lecture he got when he finally did turn up was so worth me sitting in the office for an hour,” he told them with a laugh. Al shook his head at his brother but couldn’t stop the small grin on his own face as he watched Morgan and Reid join in with Ed’s laughter.

 

“Alphonse, why were you studying the scorch marks?” Hotch asked once everyone had quietened down a bit. His question had them all focusing on the subject once more.

 

“Oh, when Brother went to Resembool to escort Miss Gracia and Elysia to Granny’s and find you guys, I went and spoke with Brigadier-General Mustang about his fire alchemy,” Al said. “I was trying to figure out from the crime scene photos of the body if there were any signs of alchemy used but I didn’t know enough about Brigadier-General Mustang’s fire alchemy and fire alchemy in general to spot anything. Miss Riza suggested that I go and pay him a visit and ask since he is the leading expert in fire alchemy,” Al explained.

 

“What did he tell you to look for?” Reid asked curiously.

 

“Well, he thought my idea to go through his old cases where he’s had to use fire alchemy against someone and compare the photos was a good idea but he also suggested that I look at the scorch marks to see if they were even. I couldn’t really tell with the photos since no one could really get a shot of the whole body from above so I figured I’d take a look while we were here,” Al told them. “The scorch marks aren’t even. There are some lighter parts and some darker parts in it. Brigadier-General Mustang told me that whenever he used fire alchemy against someone, he tried to make it as quick and painless as he possibly could by making his fire as hot as possible and making it hit his enemy as evenly as possible so they wouldn’t have to suffer,” Al looked a little uncomfortable talking about it but he didn’t let it stop him.

 

“Did Mustang suggest why the scorch marks could be uneven like that?” Hotch asked and Al nodded.

 

“Yeah, he said if they were, it could mean an accelerant was used. The attacker would have limited control over the pour pattern if they used accelerant and some of it would undoubtedly drip onto the ground from the body. If that happened, the accelerant would cause darker scorch marks than just the fire itself,” Al divulged to them.

 

“So, are we now thinking there was definitely some kind of accelerant used?” Brookes asked and Al shrugged a shoulder.

 

“Yeah, it’s possible. I didn’t smell anything though here or at the last crime scene,” Al said and Ed nodded.

 

“Same for me. It’s only been a week since Henley was killed and even less since General Andrews was found and it hasn’t rained in the meantime. If something like gasoline was used, we should’ve been able to smell it still,” Ed pointed out.

 

“Yeah, I smelled nothing of the kind at any of the crime scene. Only the wonderful mixture of stale beer, vomit and the other usual smells of an alleyway,” Brookes told them sarcastically, causing grimaces of sympathy to be sent his way. However, something he said seemed to ignite something for the brothers because they immediately started whispering to each other again. The others could only catch snippets of what they were saying this time.

 

“It’s possible they used –“

 

“- it’d have to be a high percentage –“

 

“- could’ve bought it pure, Al –“

 

“-be they alchemised –“

 

“Yeah, but I don’t think –“

 

“Hey, so maybe you guys can stop doing that whisper thing and share with the class?” Morgan said, interrupting their conversation. Both Ed and Al looked a little sheepish as they face the group again.

 

“Sorry, we do that a lot,” Al said, grinning a little crookedly.

 

“What’s the big conspiracy you were whispering about then?” Morgan asked, waving off the unnecessary apology.

 

“Well, Brookes mentioned smelling alcohol at every scene,” Ed started explaining. “It makes sense considering there were bars close by – if not directly next to – the alley’s the victims were killed in.”

 

“So, when we heard that, we realised the killer would’ve known that since they obviously staked out the alleys to make sure they were suitable,” Al continued. “They wouldn’t have used an accelerant that’s smell wouldn’t blend in with the typical alley aroma.”

 

“Which means they would’ve used something that either had no scent when it burned or wouldn’t stand out to the investigators,” Ed injected smoothly. “Obviously it would have to also be flammable so that ruled out a lot of things.”

 

“But then we realised that alcohol is somewhat flammable, depending on what drink you talk about,” Al took over again. “Obviously, beer isn’t that flammable but something with a higher alcohol content would be.”

 

“But then we realised that it made more sense for the killer to use pure alcohol – ethyl alcohol, to be exact – rather than chance that the spirit of their choice wasn’t flammable enough,” Ed revealed. “We were discussing whether it was possible if the killer had alchemised it but I don’t think they did. It would’ve been really easy to mess up and cause an explosion that took them out and they wouldn’t risk that.”

 

“So, we now think they bought it and poured it over the victim once they’d managed to knock them out,” Al told them. “They could’ve kept it in a bottle or something easy to conceal so they wouldn’t stand out when fleeing the scene.” Ed nodded in agreement.

 

“Again; creepy that you do that,” Morgan said, making the brothers grin at him with near identical smiles. “Stop that,” he told them, laughing a little. “But that’s some good thinking. What do you think, Reid?” Morgan asked.

 

“Ethyl alcohol has a flash point of 13°C and burns at a high of 365°C. A human body can start burning severely in a fire with temperatures as low as 75°C. However, a human body would need to be burned at temperatures above 1000°C for a few hours before it’s turned into ash. Using ethyl alcohol wouldn’t reduce a human body to ash at all. It would simply burn before extinguishing itself once the fuel ran out,” Reid told them immediately. Ed frowned. He didn’t know that information but if he was the person behind these attacks, he would have made sure to know everything about the accelerant he chose to use.

 

“Ed? I can see your wheels turning,” Morgan pointed out, poking him in the shoulder and snatching his finger back before Ed could swat at it.

 

“It’s not a good choice,” Ed told them. “Ethyl alcohol isn’t a good choice for an accelerant. It doesn’t burn hot enough to destroy the body. I get that there’s no scent after it’s set alight, like there would be with gasoline, but it’s still not a great choice. If this person went to all of this trouble to frame Mustang, why wouldn’t they choose an accelerant that would get rid of the body better?” Ed asked. “It would make it look more like fire alchemy if the body wasn’t as intact as these ones were. Ethyl alcohol can’t be the only accelerant in Amestris that doesn’t have a smell after it’s burnt,” Ed pointed out.

 

“Maybe making it so it looked like fire alchemy and so the bodies were easily identified was the point, Ed,” Reid suggested. “If it took the investigators a while to figure out who the victims were, it would have taken them longer to arrest Mustang, which meant the unsub would have had to wait longer to enact on the second part of their plan.”

 

“Woah hold up. Second part of their plan?” Brookes asked and the BAU looked a little surprised before realisation dawned on them.

 

“When I interviewed Captain Hawkeye, I came to the conclusion that it’s possible the unsub isn’t finished yet since there’s been no correspondence between them and Mustang’s team nor any rumours saying that someone had claimed to have bested a Brigadier-General and caused their arrest. It is extremely unlikely that someone would put as much effort as this unsub did into something like this and not gloat or celebrate in some fashion once it was done. Since that hasn’t happened…” Morgan trailed off, leaving Brookes to fill in the blanks for himself.

 

“So, should I be expecting more bodies?” Brookes asked, looking pale at the thought.

 

“I would be very surprised if the second part of the unsub’s plan is to commit more murders,” Hotch told them honestly. “Unfortunately, until we either catch them or figure out who they are, we won’t know why they went after Mustang and what the rest of their plan is,” Hotch said and Brookes, Ed and Al nodded.

 

“So, what do we do now?” Ed asked and the BAU exchanged a glance.

 

“Well, I doubt we have the time to go to Summers crime scene,” Hotch told them, causing the three Amestrians to look at the sky and startle at how dark it was already. The streetlights would soon come on so people could navigate the streets. “So, I suggest we head back to the office and catch up with Rossi, Lieutenant Ross and Captain Hawkeye, have dinner and hear what they’ve found out while we were looking at the crime scenes,” Hotch suggested.

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Ed agreed, happy to get back to the office so he could eat. Al must’ve figured out what he was thinking because the younger Elric rolled his eyes at his brother.

 

“Then let’s go,” Morgan said, already heading for the car. Everyone else was quick to follow, the two brothers mucking around at the rear of the group as they did so. 

* * *

 

They’d figured no one would have gotten dinner yet so the six of them stopped at a restaurant that Ed and Al agreed did good burgers and bought enough for everyone. Brookes was able to make a suggestion for Sheska without making it sound like that’s who the burger was for while Ed and Al figured out their teams order and the three BAU members ordered for the missing half of their team.

 

Once the order was ready and picked up, they climbed back into the military car and kept on their trek to the office. Once they got there, Brookes returned the car with a thank you to the sergeant he handed the keys to before taking his burger and leaving for his own office with a promise that a member of the BAU and someone from the team would drop by later that night to bring him up to speed on everything that happened that day. The remaining five members of the group headed for Mustang’s office and were nearly attacked when they entered, the smell of the burgers having alerted the hungrier members of the teams to their impending arrival.

 

Once they managed to get the burgers handed out to everyone, they settled down to muffled ‘thanks’ from those who hadn’t joined them at the crime scenes and dug in. Ed had told Sheska that Brookes had been the one to suggest what to get her when she asked and she looked worried that might mean he wouldn’t be able to truthfully say he didn’t know she was here if he was questioned but Ed assured her it wouldn’t happen because Brookes had never actually said who the burger was for. Sheska had still looked worried but accepted Ed’s words and went back to her burger.

 

“Thank you for dinner, Sir,” Hawkeye said once she had finished her dinner.

 

“All good, Miss Riza,” Ed told her with a smile. “What did you guys get up to while Miss Riza and I were gone?” Ed asked those who hadn’t gone with him to interview General Armstrong or visit the crime scenes.

 

“Lieutenant Havoc was good enough to escort me around the military so I could question some of those who had worked closest with Bryce, Pardi, Summers, Henley and Andrews,” Prentiss told him. “Unfortunately, I didn’t discover anything more than what had been included in the reports,” she said, looking mildly annoyed about that.

 

“Sergeant Fuery stayed with me as I went through the case files once Dr Reid had left,” Sheska told them quietly.

 

“Sergeant Fuery and Lieutenant Falman assisted me in gathering any newspaper articles that covered or mentioned the murders and attacks. It took a while so I helped Sheska with the case files in the meantime,” JJ told them. “We only just finished getting them all and are waiting to see what tomorrows newspaper include before I start going through them,” she told them before they could ask if she’d found anything.

 

“I used the time to catch up on my own work,” Breda told them and Ed nodded.

 

“So, do you want to go first, Miss Riza, or do you want us to?” Ed asked when neither Hawkeye, Rossi or Lieutenant Ross were forthcoming with information about what they did when they left the hospital.

 

“How about you and Agent Rossi tell everyone what you found out from Lieutenant-General Armstrong and we go from there?” Hawkeye suggested and Ed nodded in agreement.

 

Soon the room was listening intently as Ed started telling them about everything that happened with General Armstrong, leaving no detail out as he did so. Rossi and Maria cut in every now and then with their own comments and thoughts during Ed’s retelling of the interview. Ed didn’t seem to mind the interruptions, which encouraged the others to ask all three of them questions they happily answered. The whole room made themselves comfortable, knowing full well that they likely wouldn’t be leaving any time soon but not a single person seemed to mind.


	12. Chapter 12

Ed groaned as he woke up, stretching as he did to try and get his blood flowing after having spent so long not moving. He glanced around the office he was currently camping in and spotted his younger brother on the opposite couch, still fast asleep. Ed indulged himself for a little while longer, staring up at the ceiling of Mustang’s office and just lying there while he went over everything the teams had talked about the night before.

 

Hawkeye, Rossi and Maria had caught them up on everything that had happened at Mustang’s aunt’s place and Ed and his group – minus Brookes – had given them the run down on what they’d discovered at the crime scenes. Hawkeye and the rest of Mustang’s team had perked up when Ed had mentioned the attacker was likely an alchemist but they had deflated slightly when Ed had mentioned they’d only seen evidence of them using a basic earth array. As people who had been around three alchemists almost constantly for the past nearly six years, they knew that earth arrays were some of the easiest ones to use so it wouldn’t narrow the suspect pool down by much.

 

Once everyone had been caught up on everyone else’s activities, Ed had asked Morgan and Falman to head to Brookes’ office and catch the lieutenant-colonel up to speed, like they had promised the man they would. The two men had come back with the news that Brookes had managed to identify and locate the two guards who had been assigned guard duty at the alleyway Armstrong was attacked in. Brookes had arranged for them to come by his office after their shift ended the next day.

 

When Ed had asked why it had to be after their shift ended, Morgan had relayed what Brookes had told him when he asked; that the men were on escort duty for a visiting Major-General from South City and would be switching over with a new escort detail at 3pm that day. Since they couldn’t exactly excuse themselves before 3pm without risking their careers, Brookes had simply asked them to head to his office after the new escort detail turned up and they’d both agreed. Ed had grinned when Morgan said that Brookes had offered for a couple of them to join him. After a moment, Ed had asked if Morgan would mind heading to Brookes’ office with Maria and sitting in on the interview. Both had assured him they would be there for the meeting. They’d then spent the next couple of hours hashing out their plan for today.

 

Ed groaned again, with annoyance this time, as he remembered what he’d be doing later today. He’d discussed it with Hawkeye and she had – unfortunately – agreed that accompanying the generals to do a search of Mustang’s house would be for the best, if only to stop them breathing down their necks for a little while. Ed had completely been behind the idea to just continue being petty, something he _might_ have grumbled under his breath that had caused Hawkeye to give him a specific look that told him she wasn’t completely against his idea but they’d have to suck it up. So, he’d left it that she’d call the generals first thing this morning and arrange to head over to Mustang’s at 11am, giving herself and Edward enough time to get through the paperwork that would be waiting for them before having to leave to meet up with them.

 

Ed stretched languidly once more before rolling off the couch, landing lightly on his hands and feet before standing and stretching his back. Everyone had called it a night around midnight last night and had left in groups, as discussed. Breda was staying with Fuery, which meant they both escorted the BAU up to their rooms before Breda stole Fuery’s spare bed. Sheska had accepted Maria’s offer to stay with her since they would be commuting together each morning and night. Hawkeye and Falman lived a few blocks away from each other but neither had a big enough apartment to offer the other a spare bed but Havoc had then mentioned he had a small spare room and a pull-out couch. 

 

Hawkeye had nearly accepted the offer, since there wasn’t really another one on the table, when a sergeant had knocked on the office door and handed Hawkeye a message when Ed had called for him to enter. He’d apologised and said he was supposed to wait for a response from Hawkeye so he could pass it along to Fuhrer Grumman. That had raised a few eyebrows, including Hawkeye’s, and they waited as she opened the message and read its contents. She’d told the sergeant to let the Fuhrer know she would accept his offer before dismissing the soldier with a nod. Once he left, she’d revealed that Grumman had asked if she would like to join him and his wife for a late dinner and stay the night. That had solved the problem of where Hawkeye could stay so she wasn’t by herself, for one night at least. Havoc had still kept the offer extended to Falman and the older man had readily accepted it.

 

Ed looked over at his brother again before picking up the cushion-turned-pillow on his own couch and tossing it lightly at Al’s torso, hoping the hit was strong enough for it serve its purpose. Al woke up and tumbled off the couch much less gracefully than Ed had done himself before getting his bearings and glaring at his older brother with a promise of revenge in his eyes.

 

“Come on, let’s get some coffee,” Ed said, catching the pillow Al had thrown back at him easily and tossing it carelessly on the couch.

 

Al had muttered something likely unflattering about Ed but followed his brothers lead and made himself somewhat more presentable. Once Ed had finger-combed and braided his hair, they headed down to the mess hall and grabbing the toxic sludge that barely passed as coffee. They skulled their cups as they walked back to the office, tossing them once they were empty in the nearest and looked entirely unsurprised that Hawkeye was sitting at her desk when they returned.

 

“Morning, Miss Riza,” they both chorused, Al smothering a yawn as he did so.

 

“Good morning, boys. I trust you got some sleep once we left?” She asked, eyes roving to take in their slightly rumpled clothes and exhausted expressions.

 

“Yes, Miss Riza. We slept on the couches again,” Al told her. “We’ll have to stop by Miss Gracia’s house sometime today to have a shower and change into fresh clothes though,” Al told Ed and Ed had to nod in agreement. Three days without a shower wasn’t doing him or Al any favours.

 

“I took the liberty of sorting through the paperwork already, Edward. While you get started on that, I’ll phone General Widdon and see whether they wish to execute the search warrant today,” she told them, tactfully ignoring Ed’s mutters about what he thought General Widdon should do and Al’s soft, reprimanding ‘brother’ as she dialled the extension she needed. The phone rang as Ed took his seat and pulled the paperwork towards himself, stifling a yawn before it could manifest as he did so. “Good morning, Eleanor. This is Captain Hawkeye. Is General Widdon available for a brief talk?” Hawkeye asked as soon as the phone picked up. Ed tuned out the muffled voice on the other end of the line and started going through the papers. “Yes, I’ll hold,” Hawkeye said, a touch tersely but anyone could write it off because of the early hour rather than annoyance.

 

“Did the others mention what time they thought they’d be in this morning?” Al whispered to Ed as he tried to figure out where he’d left off the night before.

 

“Hmm, around 6:30/7:00am I think they said,” Ed whispered back. Both Elrics glanced at the clock which currently read 6:25am. Al nodded before focusing on the theory in front of him. Ed did the same with his paperwork while Hawkeye waited patiently on the phone.

 

“I’m still here.” Hawkeye’s voice had startled the two brothers who had fallen into a stupor thanks to the last two minutes being filled with only the sounds of paper rustling. “Thank you, Eleanor,” Hawkeye said before there was a brief pause and they heard the distinctive click of the phone being picked up once more. A gruff voice barked something but Hawkeye didn’t let it phase. “Good morning, General Widdon. This is Captain Hawkeye. Lieutenant-Colonel Elric has asked me to inform you that both he and I will be available after 11am this morning if you wished to execute the search warrant on Brigadier-General Mustang’s residence.” Hawkeye’s calm, professional manner was only betrayed by the annoyance written subtly on her face as they listened to the muffled words on the other end of the conversation. Hawkeye looked immensely bored. “Very well, General Widdon. We will meet you at Brigadier-General Mustang’s residence at 12:00pm today. Please remember that you are not permitted to enter the actual building without Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and myself there, as per the stipulations written on the search warrant,” Hawkeye said primly. There was a short, snappish answer before Hawkeye bid the man goodbye and hung up the phone.

 

“All set?” Ed asked, pausing in his work to look up at her.

 

“Yes. We need to make sure we’re there a little earlier than 12:00pm,” Hawkeye said and Ed nodded, catching what she left unsaid. She didn’t trust them to not try something while they were waiting for the two of them to arrive either.

 

“Okey dokey,” Ed agreed easily as the door opened to permit the BAU, Fuery and Breda. “Morning,” Ed offered to the tired agents and soldiers. “Mess hall has really disgusting coffee if you guys are desperate,” Ed told them. There was a small discussion before Fuery led Reid, JJ and Morgan to the mess hall to get everyone else coffee. Ed asked for one as they walked away and received something that could have been a wave or Morgan attempting to flip him off but being too tired to make it clear enough.

 

“Good morning, Edward, Alphonse and Captain Hawkeye,” Hotch greeted as he sat himself down in his claimed spot. Breda, Rossi and Prentiss followed suit and the room fell into comfortable silence once morning pleasantries were exchanged, punctuated only by soft chatter and Ed and Hawkeye’s pens scratching on the papers in front of them.

 

The peace was interrupted by the three missing BAU members and Fuery as Morgan, Reid and Fuery balanced three cups each. Ed wasn’t sure how they got the door open until he saw JJ bringing up the rear, two cups balanced in one hand as she shut the door softly. Fuery handed Al and Breda some coffee while Reid gave Ed and Hawkeye a cup each. JJ handed Prentiss a cup and Morgan surrendered two of the cups he carried to Rossi and Hotch. Once the four only had one cup each remaining, they joined the rest of the group at the table.

 

Fifteen minutes and drained coffee cups later, Havoc and Falman graced them with their presence and bakery goodies, tossing a pile of paper bags holding breakfast pastries and muffins, Havoc grinning madly as Ed and Al immediately pounced on the offered food.

 

“We figured Al and the Chief wouldn’t have headed back home last night and they know better than to trust anything more than the coffee from the mess so we decided to drop by a friend of mine who owns a bakery and grab breakfast,” Havoc explained when Hawkeye asked.

 

“That was very thoughtful of you, Lieutenant. Thank you,” Hawkeye said as she grabbed a croissant.

 

“Cheers, Havoc,” Ed mumbled around a bite of orange and poppy seed muffin. Hawkeye gave him a reproachful look that had Ed swallow his mouthful and offer a sheepish apology.

 

“No problems. Figured it was my turn to shout a meal,” Havoc said, snatching a bag at random and chowing down, waving off the thanks coming from everyone else. Hawkeye grabbed four more bags of food and set them aside.

 

“For Lieutenant Ross and Sheska,” Hawkeye informed them when Havoc raised a questioning brow. Havoc nodded before swiping another bag from the dwindling pile and eating it as he flipped casually through the papers he needed to work on today in between anything Ed or the BAU asked of him.

 

Only ten minutes later, the missing two members of their team entered the office. Sheska offered a meek greeting, giving the room a shy smile while Maria saluted to both Hawkeye and Ed as she reported for duty. She was dismissed from the salute almost before she could complete it and both women were offered the pastries Hawkeye had saved them. Sheska sat opposite Ed and next to Reid as she accepted the food with a quiet word of thanks and dug in. Maria thanked Hawkeye as she took one of the bags and sat in between Falman and Hotch, a spot she had claimed the night she’d met the BAU.

 

“Is the plan to search Mustang’s house happening today?” Hotch asked once the new arrivals had eaten the contents of at least bag.

 

“Yup. 12pm we gotta meet General Dick and General Douche at Mustang’s place,” Ed sighed, curving his back over the back of his chair and hearing some satisfying pops as his spine realigned. There were a couple of hastily covered sniggers from some of Mustang’s team and the BAU members. “What are you lot doing again today?” Ed asked as he brought himself out of his stretch.

 

“Reid and Morgan are going to be accompanied by Lieutenant Falman so they can visit the lab responsible for the tests Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes has asked for and see where they’re at with said tests. Rossi, Lieutenant Ross and I are going to go talk with Mustang and bring him up to speed before heading to his lawyers and talking with him. JJ will be going through everything related to this case that has been printed in the media outlets you have here and seeing if there’s a possible lead amongst that. She’ll also – if she has the time today – be going through the case files herself. Since she’s the one who sorts through all of the requests we get and chooses the cases we go on, she’ll be able to use her unique profiling techniques to see if she can pick up on anything. Sergeant Fuery and Lieutenant Breda have offered to help her if she needs it,” Hotch recounted for him. “Prentiss has plans to continue her interviewing of workmates, friends and family members of the victims and Lieutenant Havoc will be accompanying her. Morgan and Lieutenant Falman will be heading to Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ office for the 3pm meeting with the two guards,” Hotch finished up.

 

“So, we’ll be meeting up for dinner and discussing everything that happened today?” Ed asked and Hotch nodded in confirmation.

 

“What do you want me to do, Ed?” Al asked and Ed sighed, scratching his chin in thought.

 

“You can head to the labs if you want or you can go visit Mustang or help Miss JJ,” Ed told him. “It’s up to you,” Al looked contemplative and a little miffed. Most of those in the room realised it was because Ed hadn’t said Al could go with him and Hawkeye.

 

“I might stay and help Miss JJ, if that’s okay with you?” Al asked, looking at the blonde BAU member.

 

“Of course, Alphonse,” JJ smiled at him warmly. Al returned it just as brightly.

 

“Thank you,” Al nodded to her before addressing Ed again. “I want to see if I can learn anything that will help with future cases from Miss JJ,” Al said and Ed grinned.

 

“Okay. Like I said, it’s up to you,” Ed told him before returning to his pile of paperwork after a gentle but pointed cough from Hawkeye.

 

Al refrained from chuckling at the sight of his brother hunched over paperwork with the same look of intense concentration he had on his face whenever he was reading a textbook on a new alchemy. Al wasn’t the only one with an amused expression on their face but everyone else in the room was quick to find something to do once Hawkeye gave them a look she normally eyed Mustang with that told him he’d better get to work if he didn’t wish to find himself on the business end of her weapon. 

* * *

 

Ed had been so focused on doing Mustang’s paperwork that he never noticed members of the team getting up and heading out to get to their various tasks. At first, about half an hour after everyone finished breakfast, Morgan, Reid and Falman left to head down to the labs and check on the results. They’d been gone forty minutes when Rossi, Hotch and Maria left so they could talk to Mustang and his lawyer, Kenneth Lanco, hopefully catching the lawyer on his daily visit to Mustang’s holding cell. Prentiss and Havoc left shortly after them, Prentiss having been kind enough to wait for Havoc to finish the more urgent paperwork in his pile before he said they could go. This left JJ, Al, Breda, Fuery and Sheska in the office with Hawkeye and Ed.

 

Just after 10:30 that morning, Ed signed the last report in front of him and handed it over to Hawkeye for her to check over. He’d only misunderstood a couple of things this morning that Hawkeye had thankfully picked up and he’d only needed her help decoding someone’s handwriting – it had literally made his own chicken-scratch look completely legible in comparison – and that had taken them a solid twenty minutes for that file alone. As Hawkeye checked over the final report, Ed took the opportunity to look around and almost started at how few people were left in the room. He hadn’t noticed anyone leave the office.

 

“Very good, Edward. Everything looks like it’s in order,” Hawkeye told him, offering him a rare, genuine smile.

 

“Awesome,” Ed smiled back before locating his little brother. “Hey, Al, you busy right now?” Ed asked, causing the younger Elric to look up from where he’d been about to help JJ sort newspaper clippings and articles.

 

“Why?” Al asked, suspicion tinging his voice slightly.

 

“Figured we might as well to Miss Gracia’s and clean up since I don’t need to be anywhere until 12,” Ed told him, not appreciating the suspicion he’d heard in his brother’s voice.

 

“Oh, good idea,” Al said before looking apologetically at JJ. “As long as it’s okay for me to leave you with this, Miss JJ?” Al asked and JJ nodded immediately.

 

“Of course. I can handle this, don’t you worry,” she assured him, resulting in a grateful smile from Alphonse.

 

“Be back here by 11:30am, please, boys,” Hawkeye said as the two made their way to the door.

 

“Sure thing, Miss Riza,” Ed promised, disappearing through the door with his brother in tow. 

* * *

 

The two of them ran the entire way back to Gracia’s home, wanting to get there as quickly as possible so they wouldn’t be late back to the office. Once on Gracia’s street, they slowed back down to a walk, using the time to catch their breath and keep an eye on their surroundings, just in case. When they finally reached the front gate, Al noticed something taped to the front door and the two brothers stopped in the middle of the front path.

 

“Hold on, Al,” Ed said, calling up his tracking array, clapping his hands together and releasing the energy he’d built up, sending it forward to cover the house. It didn’t take very long to check the whole house and backyard so once he was done, he cut the energy off immediately. “There’s no one here,” Ed told his brother. He stamped up to the front door and tore the note off the front door, turning it over and checking the signature on the bottom.

 

“Brother?” Al asked when Ed let out an amused huff.

 

“It’s a note from one of Miss Gracia’s friends, checking on her probably,” Ed told him, shaking his head at the overreaction a simple, well-meaning note had caused. Al let out a chuckle as well while Ed unlocked the front door, letting them both inside for the first time since the night after Mustang’s arrest.

 

Ed knew Al was doing the exact same thing he was as they walked through the house after kicking off their boots. Both brothers were checking the house for any signs of someone being inside after Gracia and Elysia had left for Resembool but neither brother spotted anything out of place. Ed placed the note on the kitchen table for Gracia to find when the two Hughes’ returned home before following Al up the stairs to their bedroom.

 

“Do you want to shower first, Brother?” Al asked as he grabbed a set of clean clothes to change into.

 

“Nah, you go ahead,” Ed told him, searching for some clean clothes of his own. Al nodded and left the room and soon enough, Ed heard the shower running.

 

Ed spared a look at the plain, black duffle-bag sitting innocently at the foot of his bed and sighed. It was the bag that he’d been given when he and Mustang had left Washington D.C. but he knew he couldn’t wear anything in it out of the house unless he wanted to be asked questions about the various pop-culture references on the shirts and hoodies and the material his jeans were made out of. There’d been more things in there; books Reid had suggested to JJ that Ed might like, snacks for Ed to share with everyone, some clothing items Garcia, JJ and Prentiss had thought Al might like that now lived in a drawer of Al’s, and mobile phone that Garcia had managed to sneak in with a note on how it could be set up and a number to call if Ed found himself in America again with no one around to help him.

 

Once Ed had found a clean set of his usual clothes, he searched his unmade bed for his tablet that he’d been given by his Voltron friends. He could still feel the Lions in his head, their bond not broken by the distance between them somehow, but it was muted and he knew it was partially his fault. He hadn’t wanted any distractions while working this case and the Lions had assured him they’d understood. Plus, they were exhausted themselves and needed the time to rest while they could. Ed didn’t know why but they’d promised to tell him all about it once he’d cleared Mustang’s name.

 

“Shower’s free, Ed,” Al said as he walked into their room. Ed hadn’t even heard the shower switch off and a glance at their clock showed it was 10:55am so he needed to hurry. He grabbed his clothes off the bed and headed for the bathroom, leaving Al to finish getting ready.

 

Fifteen minutes later, Ed emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed but still towel-drying his hair as he walked into their bedroom. Al was sitting on his bed, pulling on a clean pair of socks, having tidied up a little in the room. Ed rolled his eyes when he noticed his bed was made and the tablet set carefully on his bedside table. Grabbing his comb, Ed made quick work of his hair and soon had it plaited so it was out of his face. Scooping up his tablet, Ed gave the room a look over before turning his attention back to his brother.

 

“You ready?” Ed asked, switching his hold on his tablet so he could tuck it securely in a specially transmuted pocket on the inside of his black jacket. It was created out of sturdy material so there was minimal chance of an edge wearing out and the tablet falling out and getting damaged – though Pidge had promised it was near indestructible – and he’d made it extra secure with a zipper that was near invisible once closed.

 

“Yeah, we need to head back now,” Al pointed out and Ed glanced at the clock and swore slightly. They would be cutting it close but they could make it if they left right now.

 

“Let’s go, no time to waste,” Ed said, heading straight for the front door, nabbing his signature red jacket as he went, Al hot on his heels. 

* * *

 

“You cut it very close, boys,” Hawkeye said dryly, looking up the moment the two Elrics had entered the office, sending a pointed glance to the wall clock that had just ticked over to read 11:30am.

 

“Sorry, Miss Riza. We may have had a situation that wasn’t really a situation,” Al told her, immediately causing Hawkeye and everyone else in the room to tense up.

 

“Chill. A friend of Miss Gracia’s left a note on the front door, asking if she was alright or something. I checked the signature and recognised the name after I scanned the house with my tracking array to make sure there wasn’t someone waiting inside for us. Nothing looked out of place when we got inside either,” Ed reassured them. They all relaxed but not completely like Ed had hoped for. “Seriously, guys. We’re fine, the house is fine, we weren’t followed to or from the house. You can relax,” Ed said, hoping the assurances would get them to stop looking so worried. It worked a little better but he could still see some underlying tension in their faces.

 

“As long as you’re sure,” Hawkeye said. Both boys nodded with conviction. “Okay. I suggest we leave now, Edward. I’ve called ahead for a car to meet us both at the front gate in five minutes,” Hawkeye told him, standing up swiftly and pulling on her jacket as she did so.

 

“Alright. See ya,” Ed said, throwing a wave to everyone left in the room as he headed back through the door he’d only just entered through.

 

“Please don’t do something the generals could have you court-martialled for,” Al nearly begged his brother.

 

“You know, I _have_ perfected the art of being a shit without crossing lines. I know how much I can push before it’s too much,” Ed told Al. funnily enough, Alphonse didn’t look completely convinced.

 

“I’ll keep him out of trouble, Alphonse,” Hawkeye promised, causing the younger Elric to relax immediately.

 

“Thank you, Miss Riza,” Al said sincerely. Ed just rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at his little brother, causing most of the others left in the room to laugh as Hawkeye shut the door behind them. 

* * *

 

To Ed’s slight disappointment, it wasn’t Sergeant Browning behind the wheel of the military car waiting for them. The young Warrant Officer introduced herself as Melissa Drayton, snapping a sharp salute the moment Hawkeye mentioned their ranks. Once she was released from the salute, Drayton was given the address they were headed for. She took a moment before nodding confidently and climbed in behind the wheel. Ed and Hawkeye claimed the back seat and they were soon heading for Mustang’s house.

 

Ed watched the route they were taking, his training to memorise unfamiliar routes kicking in automatically as building flashed past. Ed could only ever remember visiting Mustang’s house once and that really hadn’t been a social call. He almost smirked when he remembered that the last time he was there, he’d alchemised his way through the front door. His reasons for being there weren’t as humourous considering he’d been bleeding heavily from a particularly vicious stab wound to his gut and had been separated from Alphonse by man behind the stabbing. Mustang had been the only viable option – his other being risking bleeding out before he found Alphonse – and he’d admittedly been impatient with how long it had taken the man to reach the door. The fact that is was nearly 3am didn’t matter at the time so he’d blown the door open, causing Mustang to raise his hand to snap instinctively before cursing at Ed when he realised who’d destroyed his door and cursing again when he saw the amount of blood saturating his youngest subordinate’s side.

 

“I can’t see any cars other than Brigadier-General Mustang’s,” Hawkeye observed as Drayton smoothly pulled the car alongside the curb, pulling Ed out of his thoughts as she spoke. Ed spotted one of the two-man team assigned to keep Mustang’s house protected from break-ins until the trial was over as they came to a stop.

 

Mustang’s house wasn’t overly big. Ed knew the only reason he hadn’t bought an apartment was because Mustang needed the room for his alchemic research and materials. There was a medium sized backyard that acted as a training ground for Mustang to use to test any new experiments he came up with. That was also the reason why he chose a neighbourhood where the neighbours were spread out further from each other, allowing for a little more privacy. From what Ed remembered of the layout he saw, the house was a two-storey building with the lounge room, kitchen, laundry and dining room on the first floor. The lounge room doubled as the library, housing the alchemic texts Mustang didn’t mind having displayed but all of his more sensitive research materials were kept in his bedroom under lock and key. The upper level of his house had Mustang’s bedroom, a small study, a spare room and the bathroom located on it.

 

“Am I to wait here until you’re finished, Sir, Ma’am?” Drayton asked once the two of them had climbed out of the car.

 

“You may go and get some lunch and do anything you need to do in town but please be back here in two hours’ time,” Hawkeye asked when Ed didn’t answer immediately.

 

“Yes, Captain,” Drayton said, offering a salute before pulling the car away from the street and leaving.

 

“So, what do we do?” Ed asked as he followed Hawkeye when she headed up the driveway.

 

“We wait until Generals Widdon and Combes turn up with their teams but first we need to brief the soldiers here of what’s happening,” Hawkeye told him as they walked. “Do you want to talk to the guard here or at the back of the house?” She asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder.

 

“Whichever,” he told her. She nodded once and immediately headed for the side gate so Ed assumed he was talking to the soldier posted out the front. He saw the female guard take a few steps forward to intercept Hawkeye before Ed called for her to stop.

 

“That’s Captain Hawkeye. We’re allowed here,” Ed told her once he drew level with her.

 

“And you are?” The brunette asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

 

“Edward Elric, or the Fullmetal Alchemist,” Ed told her and sighed in annoyance when she saluted.

 

“My apologies, Sir. I didn’t recognise you,” she said, holding her salute while her voice shook slightly with nerves.

 

“I’m not surprised considering we’ve never met,” Ed told her as he waved her out of the salute. “What’s your name?” He asked.

 

“I’m Warrant Officer Lilah Thomas,” she told him. “May I ask why you and Captain Hawkeye are here, Sir?” She asked, nerves still evident. Ed wondered if she was afraid that he was going to yell at her for something.

 

“Generals Widdon and Combes will be here soon with their teams to execute the search warrant on Mustang’s house. We’re here to make sure they don’t touch or take anything they’re not supposed to or to try and plant false evidence,” Ed told her and her eyes widened slightly at how he spoke about the generals.

 

“Thank you for letting me and my partner know, Sir,” Lilah said gratefully. The guards who rotated with them for this job were under standing orders that entrance to the house was not permitted in any case unless members of Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s team were present. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes had emphasised that it didn’t matter what reason they claimed, if they weren’t accompanied by at least one member of Elric’s team, they weren’t to go inside.

 

“No worries. You’ll be asked to wait out here and I imagine your partner will probably join you out front once the others arrive and then you can resume your job. Sorry for the hassle,” Ed told her, wincing apologetically.

 

“No hassle, Sir. We appreciate the heads up,” Lilah said with a small smile as Hawkeye came back from out the back. Ed returned the smile before joining and walking with her until they stood under the carport. Ed chose to lean up against Mustang’s car while Hawkeye stood in a relaxed parade stance.

 

“They should be here shortly,” Hawkeye said after checking her watch, causing Ed to make an annoyed noise.

 

“Yeah, I’m sure they will be,” Ed muttered. Ed knew the trip to Mustang’s had taken them less than ten minutes but only because there was a bit more traffic since it was lunch time. This meant there was still 15 minutes until the time the generals had arranged to meet them would come to pass.

 

“Edward, are you alright?” Hawkeye asked after a few minutes of silence had passed and there was no sign of the generals.

 

“Yeah, just going over everything we’ve uncovered to see if something clicks for me,” Ed told her. “How are you holding up?” He asked and she gave him a tight smile.

 

“I’m alright. I would like this to be sorted out so we can get back to our regular jobs,” she told him, smiling a little more when Ed let out an amused huff.

 

“Yeah, I’m sure Mustang really misses the paperwork,” Ed grinned cheekily. Hawkeye didn’t say anything in response to that but Ed saw her lips twitch into an almost grin.

 

“I meant to ask you earlier, Edward, but I wasn’t sure how much you’d told the BAU agents. Have you spoken again with your Lion friends since you found out about Major-General Andrews?” Hawkeye asked curiously. Ed shook his head.

 

“I told them when Mustang was arrested what was going on and muted the bond on my side. They understood why I did it and they were willing to let me since they knew how much I couldn’t afford a distraction. I felt them when Al and I went back to Miss Gracia’s but we haven’t spoken. I’ve promised to let them know once this whole mess has been fixed and they’ve said they’ve got something to tell me as well,” Ed told her. Hawkeye wasn’t surprised that Ed had done so but she was surprised that he had told them what he was going to do. She had thought of the possibility of him accidentally muting the bond while working the case as he had told the team he’d accidentally done that a couple of times when he was concentrated completely on something and had tuned out all distractions, his brother and the Lions included.

 

“Hopefully, we’ll solve this case quickly and you can find out what they wanted to tell you sooner than you think,” Hawkeye said optimistically. Ed gave her a smile and opened his mouth to say something when he stopped and cocked his head.

 

“I think they’re here,” he told her and sure enough, Hawkeye could hear cars approaching now that she was actively listening for them.

 

A few seconds later and four military cars appeared, pulling in alongside the curb in quick succession. Widdon and Combes climbed out of one car each, both barking at their drivers to stay in the car while their teams made their way out of the vehicles they’d arrived in, standing at attention in the middle of what counted as Mustang’s front yard, awaiting orders. Hawkeye jerked her chin towards them minutely and both her and Edward walked out of the car port, standing just off to the side of the group near where Lilah was still standing

 

“I didn’t think it was possible for higher ups to be on time – let alone, early – for anything,” Ed mock-whispered to Hawkeye, loud enough for the generals to hear him and notice them. He heard Lilah gasp slightly at his words.

 

“Captain Hawkeye, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Widdon said, annoyance in his tone.

 

“Generals,” Hawkeye said, keeping her voice respectful and saluting. The generals made her hold it for a few seconds before letting her relax out of it. Ed just nodded his head at them once.

 

“It’s about time the two of you stopped trying to delay the inevitable and quit your petty behaviour,” Combes sniffed at them.

 

“Unlike some people, we actually have work to do during the day,” Ed told him flatly. “Not to mention the fact that we’ve got to do all the work you neglected to do the moment you heard Mustang was a suspect. So, yeah, it’s been a bit difficult finding a couple of hours in our day to set aside to babysit you lot when we’re too busy trying to catch a killer,” Ed said snippily. Hawkeye kept her expression carefully impassive. A few members of the generals team were doing their best not to show their shock at Ed’s insubordination, having not personally witnessed it first-hand before.

 

“The killer has already been caught,” Combes snapped at Ed. “You just don’t want to admit that your boss is a cold, calculating murderer.” He glared at Ed.

 

“Ya know, I was gonna catch the real killer for those typical reasons; clear an innocent man’s name, bring justice to the victims, yadda yadda,” Ed rolled his wrist in a ‘so on’ motion. “But now I’m gonna do it just so I can tell you ‘I told you so’ and make you admit that once you realised Mustang was a viable suspect, you decided that solving the case wasn’t your goal; getting rid of someone the two of you saw as a threat was,” Ed told them matter-of-factly.

 

“May I suggest we do what we came here to do, generals? Like Lieutenant-Colonel Elric said, we have work we need to be doing,” Hawkeye interjected smoothly before either general could say anything to Edward.

 

“Fine,” Widdon said. “Let’s get this done with,” he grumbled, stomping towards the front door. Hawkeye managed to cut him off.

 

“I need to see the search warrant, Sir, so I know what exactly it covers,” Hawkeye informed him.

 

“The warrant lets us search the house,” Combes growled. “I didn’t think you’d be the kind of soldier to question higher-ranking officers than yourself, Captain,” Combes emphasised her rank to make his point.

 

“Captain Hawkeye?” Ed called as he went to stand next to her. He could see Lilah out of the corner of his eye, watching him with interest.

 

“Yes, Sir?” Hawkeye didn’t move her eyes from the generals as she answered.

 

“Correct me if I’m wrong but a case can get thrown out of court if it’s discovered that those executing a search warrant went beyond the scopes of said warrant? Also, it’s illegal to not hand search warrant over to those being served it for them to read, yes?” Ed asked, crossing his arms in front of him and staring the generals down.

 

“That is correct, Sir. In answer to your first question, the very least that could happen is any and all evidence found in this house would be ruled inadmissible and not permitted to be used should it be proven that they went beyond the limits of the search warrant,” Hawkeye told him. “As for your second question, Sir, refusal to show a search warrant when it’s requested is illegal unless the person who requested it is not permitted to view it.” Ed almost grinned when he heard Lilah’s whispered ‘damn’ as he watched Combes’ top lip threaten to curl up into a snarl. Widdon managed to keep his face almost perfectly neutral but they could see the contempt in his eyes as he reached into his inner breast pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and handed it over to Hawkeye.

 

“Thank you, Sir,” Hawkeye said evenly as she took the offered paper.

 

Once the paper was unfolded, she read the warrant carefully and thoroughly before handing it over to Edward for him to read. As covered by the warrant, the generals and their teams were permitted to search the house and Mustang’s personal vehicle and seize any evidence that could be connected to the crimes in question and/or related to the victims, be it personal belongings or other such items. They were not permitted to search any room without either Ed or Hawkeye present to oversee them and they were not permitted to go through anything related to Mustang’s alchemy or research without Ed or Hawkeye watching them. In the event of them coming across something locked or sealed, Ed or Hawkeye was to unlock it or unseal it for them to go through it unless the locked item was deemed too unsafe to be unlocked in the household. Also covered under the warrant was a non-invasive search of the backyard, meaning the soldiers couldn’t dig up the ground unless they had probable cause and had obtained a new search warrant to do so. The last thing on the page was the Fuhrer’s signature and seal, as well as Generals Combes and Widdon’s own signatures and seals.

 

“Okay. There were a few big words in this. I hope you were able to understand it clearly,” Ed said completely straight-faced. “Would hate for you to do something not permitted by this warrant and get this case thrown out.” The sarcasm in his voice was obvious and the looks on the generals faces suggested they were _this_ close to snapping at him. Instead, Widdon deliberately turned his back to them in an obvious sign of dismissal that Ed wanted to snort at.

 

“My team will be searching the upper level of the criminal’s house. General Combes team will be searching the lower level. You’ve all read the warrant and you know your orders,” Widdon told the men and women in front of him. Hawkeye stepped forward.

 

“I will be accompanying those on the lower level of the house while Lieutenant-Colonel Elric will be accompanying General Widdon and his men. Remember, for anything you seize in this house to be used should the trial go forward, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric or myself must be in the room with you. Also, keep in mind that this house may be have some arrays drawn out for research or security purposes. If you are unsure of what the array is for, please don’t touch it. Come and find myself or Lieutenant-Colonel Elric so we can check it,” Hawkeye told them. “I’m sure you all already know this but just to be certain, please keep in mind that anything locked must be brought to myself or Lieutenant-Colonel Elric so we can open it.”

 

“Have you finished ordering our men, Captain?” Combes sneered. Hawkeye simply fixed him with a flat stare.

 

“Small reminders do not hurt, Sir,” Hawkeye informed him stiffly before turning sharply on her heel and heading for the front door, Ed right behind her. She paused when she came face-to-face with Lilah, who hadn’t moved much from her spot.

 

“Warrant Officer Thomas, would you mind standing aside while we let these two idiots raid the house?” Ed asked nicely. Lilah didn’t say a word nor did her face betray any kind of amusement but her deep, blue eyes sparkled in amusement as she did as he requested. “Thank you,” Ed smiled at her, ignoring the scoff coming from one of the generals – Ed would bet Combes – and letting Hawkeye go first.

 

Fishing a key from her front pocket, Hawkeye unlocked the front door, pushing it open and stepping aside smoothly to allow the generals and their men to walk through the door and into the house.

 

Edward and Hawkeye were quick to follow and after nodding to one another, split up to follow the group they would be watching. Ed barely paused in his assent up the stairs, giving Widdon no time to try anything in the moments Ed wasn’t there. Unlike the first storey of the house, this storey wasn’t almost open planned. Widdon barely glanced at Ed when he stood level with him, though with as much distance as possible between them.

 

“Hill, Sanders, take the room on the left. Kali –“ Widdon started ordering them but was cut off.  
  
“Not happening,” Ed interrupted. Widdon glared at him.

 

“Excuse me, Lieutenant-Colonel? Did you just try and negate orders given to my team by their commanding officer?” Widdon asked scathingly.

 

“Of course not.” Ed sounded appropriately shocked at the mere suggestion. “But how do you expect me to be in multiple rooms at once?” He asked, mock-politely.

 

“You don’t need to be in multiple places at once, Lieutenant-Colonel.” Ed was almost impressed by how Widdon could turn a rank into an insult. “You just need to be present.” Ed gave him the most scandalised look he could muster.

 

“Widdon, I don’t know whether you’re insinuating I’m an idiot or that you honestly believe you can try and pull one over me,” Ed informed him. “That search warrant you handed to Captain Hawkeye, which I read – in case you somehow missed me reading it –, specifically said that I or Captain Hawkeye need to be able to see _all_ of yours and the other idiots team members. That means that you _cannot_ split up and search multiple rooms. Unless you have a way for me to be able to look through walls, it ain’t happening,” Ed told him firmly.

 

“That would mean we’d have to search this level one floor at a time,” Widdon told him.

 

“Oh, good. You aren’t as thick as I’d feared,” Ed said flatly. Widdon bristled whereas the group of five in front of him did an amazing job of not reacting in the slightest.

 

“Searching the floor room by room would take far longer than having my team split up to cover more ground. You said so yourself, you’re very busy. Surely you want to get back to your office sooner?” Widdon tried to appeal to his own words. Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“I’ll let you in on a very well-known secret, Widdon, since you seem to forget things easily, like the whole ‘innocent until proven guilty’ concept,” Ed didn’t miss the way Widdon growled at the not-so-subtle jab. “I’m exceptionally petty, if given the right motivation. That means that I will stand here for _days_ if I have to before I let you try and manipulate me into going around the parameters set up by the search warrant that you obviously agreed to since you signed and placed your seal on it,” Ed pointed out, leaving the proverbial ball in Widdon’s court. Widdon snarled as he turned back to his soldiers.

 

“The room on the left. Get to it!” Widdon barked snappishly. The soldiers were quick to follow his order, marching into the room quickly. Ed and Widdon followed, after Ed stared the general down when he looked like he was going to try and wait outside.

 

The room they were searching was Mustang’s spare room, by the looks of it. It was rather bare, with only the necessities stopping the room from being called empty. The double bed sat unused against the centre of the back wall with a matching bedside table on each side. Cream sheets and a plain, light-blue doona covered the mattress, matching the pale wood the bed and tables were constructed from. Ed wondered vaguely if Hawkeye or Gracia had something to do with the choice of furniture and bedding. A matching set of drawers with a large mirror sitting on it sat against the left wall while the right had a small cupboard designed for hanging clothing and a large bookshelf filled with books and journals sitting next to each other. Ed itched to get his hands on those books but knew he could just badger Mustang later about it.

 

The soldier who Ed thought was Hill – at least, he was the soldier who’d straightened when the name had been called – had taken the set of drawers with the mirror and was rifling through them quickly but efficiently. Ed was a little surprised to see there was actually stuff in the drawers. It looked like paper and when Ed took a few steps towards the drawers, he broke into a grin. It was paperwork from the office, if he wasn’t mistaken and he rarely was. He was so gonna tell Hawkeye.

 

The dark-skinned soldier who Ed believed was Sanders was knocking on the wall with the back of his fist, checking for any sign of something being hidden in the wall. Kali – or at least who Ed thought was Kali – was making quick work of the bedside table but it was near empty. Still, she checked for a false bottom or anything possibly taped to it, going so far as to pull it away from the wall. The other two soldiers, both male, were handling the hanging closet and second bedside table, respectively.

 

Widdon stood in the middle of the room, glaring alternately between Ed and his soldiers, looking slightly angrier the longer he went without hearing someone say they found something. Ed rolled his eyes at that. This was the first of five rooms on the floor and he was already getting annoyed? Sighing internally, Ed prepared himself for a testing couple of hours as he watched Kali and the unnamed soldier strip the bed with ease and lift the mattress to check under it and the bedframe. They then searched the mattress for any signs of mended rips or tears but evidently found nothing and dropped the mattress back on the frame carelessly.

 

Both of them headed for the bookshelf next and quickly started pulling books out, opening them to shake the pages and tossing them aside when they revealed nothing. With the journals, they skimmed the pages after a poorly hidden nervous look was tossed Ed’s way, causing the blonde to head for the bookshelf so he could look at the journals himself and give them permission to look them through once he decided the contents weren’t anything special. Widdon muttered darkly under his breath but didn’t say anything when Ed raised an eyebrow at him, silently daring him to speak up. Ed was almost disappointed that he didn’t.

 

After checking the walls, floors and the entire bookshelf, the soldiers declared the room clear, forcing Widdon to order them to move on to the next room. Ed followed along quietly, watching in fascination as Widdon seemed to get more agitated the longer the blonde was silent. The room the group entered was Mustang’s study. It was a small room, with barely enough room for the five soldiers to move around in without bumping into each other or the two men standing in the middle of it. Ed took one glance in this room and nearly drooled over the amount of alchemy texts in here. Ed decided he was going to use the ‘I helped get you out of jail and did your paperwork’ card so he’d be able to get in here for a few days and read everything he could.

 

The room’s walls were covered in bookshelves, with each bookshelf filled to the brim with more alchemic texts and hand-written journals. Here and there, the books were separated by boxes, varying in size and colour. A sturdy, organised desk stood in the middle of the room, so Mustang could face the door and have access to the bookshelves on any side of him. Much like they’d done in the spare bedroom, Widdon’s team split up and tackled different sections of the room.

 

Hill went for the desk, leaving the four others to take a bookshelf each, which all but one of the unnamed soldiers did. That solider started checking the floor and any bare sections of the wall they could reach. Ed kept his eyes on the soldiers occupied with the bookshelves more so than the other two or Widdon. They were giving the contents of the shelves the same treatment they’d given the ones in the spare room and Ed felt a slight tinge of annoyance grow slightly more with each book that thudded to the floor. When the soldiers reached a box, they opened it, rifled through the contents before putting it back on the shelf, which made Ed somewhat thankful they didn’t decide to treat them like the books. As expected, one of the unknown soldiers came across a locked box and immediately brought it to Edward and Widdon’s attentions.

 

“Sir, this one is locked,” the soldier announced, offering the box to the general. Ed rolled his eyes as he watched Widdon try and pry the lid open.

 

“Open it,” Widdon barked, thrusting the box at Ed, who made zero moves to take it. Instead, the blonde turned to the soldier.

 

“Hello. What’s your name?” Ed asked and the soldier blinked in surprise.

 

“Uh, I’m Lieutenant Jason Owen, Sir,” he introduced himself, offering a salute. Ed stopped him.

 

“Don’t bother with that shit with me. I’m not hung up on my rank, unlike some,” Ed told him, not trying to hide the side-eyed glance aimed at Widdon, whose anger was becoming more evident. “I have a question for you, Lieutenant.” Owen nodded. “Am I a member of your team?”

 

“Uh, no?” Owen said, looking confused with the question. Ed noticed the four other soldiers halting in their search in favour of watching the scene unfold.

 

“Would you happen to know why your boss is trying to order me around, despite the fact that I’m not a member of your team and he has been repeatedly informed of the fact that I answer to two people – as per my contract – and he and Combes are neither of those people?” Ed asked, mock-curiousity drenching his voice. Widdon spluttered where he stood and Owen looked like he was contemplating making a rapid escape. “Relax, Lieutenant Owen. I was just making a point, not expecting an actual answer,” Ed told him, a note of apology in his voice. Owen looked immensely relieved by that sentence. “Thank you, Lieutenant,” Ed said, using a dismissive tone so Owen could leave this tense atmosphere, even if it was only a couple of metres away.

 

The lieutenant damn near fled and Ed was a little impressed by his ability to move so quickly. The other four soldiers took one look at Widdon and Ed’s staring contest and decided the bookshelves were really important and required their immediate attention. Ed raised a brow at Widdon as the man continued to hold the box out for him to take.

 

“Open it,” Widdon repeated, though his voice was forcibly calm, even leaning towards polite. Ed figured it was as good as a ‘please’ as he was going to get so he took the box.

 

The box in question wasn’t very big, maybe slightly larger than a shoebox. It was a faded black colour, indicating it had some age to it, and there was a little bit of rust collected on the hinges and lock. Ed turned it over in his hands, using a scruitinising gaze on it to check for hidden arrays or transmutation marks on it anywhere. Finding none, he shrugged at Widdon.

 

“No can do. This one is simply locked and I’m not willing to waste my alchemy on something Captain Hawkeye likely has a key for,” Ed told the general, who went to say something but Ed cut him off before he could. “If Captain Hawkeye doesn’t have the key then I’ll use alchemy,” Ed offered the small compromise, if only to stop Widdon from complaining.

 

“Fine,” Widdon snapped, snatching the box from Ed’s hands and placing it not-so-gently on the now-cleared study desk.

 

They continued searching the room, no one daring to make a sound that wasn’t necessary. Whenever the soldiers came across a box that wouldn’t open, they handed it over to Ed immediately rather than risking getting snapped at again by the irate general. Of the roughly two dozen boxes in the room, the soldiers handed fourteen to Ed and he opened all but five of them. Those five joined the first box on the desk, waiting for Hawkeye to look at them before he did anything to them. Widdon didn’t say a word during this process and eventually the soldiers declared the room clear.

 

“Move to the next room,” Widdon ordered and the soldiers hastened to obey. Ed brought up the rear of the group as they headed across the hall and spared a thought for Hawkeye. Widdon was the one with the most self-control – such as it was – out of the two of them and if he was getting this snippy, Ed almost didn’t want to know what Combes was like right now.

 

The next room was Mustang’s bedroom and Ed hesitated for a moment before following the general and his team over the threshold into it. This room, much like the spare room, was minimally furnished. There was king-sized bed, two bedside tables, a dresser, a closet, a bookshelf and a large blanket box at the foot of the bed. The bedsheets in this room were an almost silver colour while the doona cover was black. There were two pieces of artwork, one above the dresser and one above the bed, both pieces were obviously done by the same abstract artist. The dresser held three photographs encased in understated frames and a small collection of nick knacks, such as spare change, a notebook and a couple of pieces of chalk.

 

Hill and Kali took on the dresser and a bedside table each while Sanders, Owen and the only solder Ed still didn’t have a name for stripped the bed, searched the other bedside table and opened the blanket box and started pulling things out of it. Sanders soon finished with the bed – after Owen helped him with the mattress – and moved on to the closet. Owen was soon done with the bedside table and started searching the bookshelf. As soon as he did, Ed headed over to join him and make he wasn’t reading anything too sensitive. Owen gave him a small, unsure smile before getting back to work when Widdon glanced suspiciously at Ed.

 

Ed was keeping one eye on the journals Owen was going through and the other on the general. He was bemused at how much Widdon was struggling to keep his annoyance at the lack of evidence in check so he couldn’t give Ed any kind of ammunition to use against him. It didn’t take long for the soldiers to destroy this room as part of the search and declare it cleared, forcing Widdon to move them on to the next room; the bathroom. Ed spared a glance at the room they left and was surprised to see the photo-frames had been moved but not broken, like he’d expected. He didn’t know what to make of it, frowning as he followed the others.

 

The bathroom was right next to the main bedroom but they weren’t connected to one another which meant they had to go back into the hallway so they could enter the bathroom. It was a decent-sized bathroom, fitting a corner shower and bathtub against the wall. The toilet sat in the corner on the other side of the opened door and there was a sink sitting on a cabinet, under a mirrored medicine cabinet set on the wall. There was an awkward few moments as the soldiers realised the room didn’t warrant all five of them in it to search it. Widdon growled as he realised this as well.

 

“Owen, Nelson, wait out here. Kali, Sanders, Hill, get to work,” Widdon ordered. Lieutenant Owen and the now-identified Nelson moved to flank Widdon where he and Ed stood. The three other soldiers went to work, rifling through the cabinets.

 

“Sir? There’s a cupboard at the end of the hallway,” Nelson informed Widdon after he’d caught sight of it.

 

“You two, go search it,” Widdon barked at them. Ed didn’t raise a fuss. He could keep eyes on the split team like this since there wasn’t a wall separating them from him.

 

Owen and Nelson pulled sheets and towels out of the cupboard, shaking them loose before tossing them aside when finished. There were also a few boxes holding items that Mustang obviously had stored, which they went through as well. The team in the bathroom were quickly making short work of it, going so far as to pull medicine from their packets to see if anything small was hidden in there. Sanders had the unenviable job of checking the toilet for any possible hidden evidence.

 

The search didn’t last much longer after that. All parties stayed quiet so as to not risk Widdon’s anger, with the exception of Ed. He only stayed quiet so he could prove his brother right about knowing where the lines are and when they shouldn’t be pushed. He did do nothing to hide the smugness he felt as he followed the seething general down the stairs so they could find Hawkeye and figure out the six boxes they hadn’t searched.

 

Ed wasn’t surprised at the level of destruction he saw on the ground floor when he made it down the staircase. Having witnessed the mess Widdon’s team left behind them, he would’ve have been more surprised if this level was treated with more respect. The couch cushions had been ripped from the couch and put back haphazardly, with books thrown around in the same manner as the ones upstairs. The coffee table was on its side and Ed could see three boxes sitting neatly in the middle of the chaos.

 

Ed walked around the mess to step into the kitchen, from where he would have an unobstructed view of the kitchen, pantry, dining room and laundry. The soldiers on Combes’ team had made quick work of their search, obviously unimpeded to search multiple rooms at once as soon as the loungeroom had been cleared. Foodstuff from the pantry sat scattered on the floor, bag of rice, flours and the likes having been ripped open and the contents strewn across the floor. A noise caught his attention and Ed cocked his head to listen better.

 

“They’re outside. Let’s go,” Ed told the six soldiers behind him but, unsurprisingly, no one moved when Widdon decided to stay in his spot.

 

“You have the same amount of authority over my team as I have over you,” Widdon used the same mocking tone Ed used when he’d questioned Owen earlier.

 

“Technically true, unless some of your team are ranked lower than me which would technically mean I have some amount of authority over them, unless your orders contradict mine or they deem my orders too dangerous or illegal,” Ed informed him. “However, you seem to not realise that I’m not ordering, I’m suggesting. You can choose to waste time in here and sulk because you found no evidence of guilt in an innocent man’s house or you can come outside with me – so we both stay within the bounds of the warrant – and we can ask Captain Hawkeye for keys that belong to the boxes upstairs and join the search of the backyard that I’m assuming is going on now.” Ed gave him his two options in a tone one might use with a small child. Widdon glared at Ed, a look filled with irritation and hate, but Ed merely countered with one of boredom.

 

“Outside,” Widdon eventually snapped at his soldiers, causing the five to flinch slightly before doing as they were told. Ed gave them a slightly apologetic look but no one exchanged any actual words as they walked out of the house.

 

Ed spotted Hawkeye immediately. She was standing with Combes in one of the few shaded spots the backyard offered though neither looked even the tiniest bit happy about it. Combes’ men were scouring the yard, searching through the gardens – what Ed supposed counted as gardens anyway – and searching the objects Mustang must use as target practise.

 

Widdon and Combes had moved away from Ed and Hawkeye the moment they spotted each other while Widdon’s team stuck to Ed, having not received any orders from their commanding officer. The blonde alchemist noted that Lilah’s partner wasn’t present and assumed the soldier had been asked to wait with their partner out front until they were finished. Ed caught Hawkeye’s gaze, looked at the two general and pointedly rolled his eyes at them. Hawkeye gave him the least effective admonishing gaze she had ever given him before, causing Ed to grin widely.

 

“I take it you survived, Captain?” Ed asked quietishly. He wasn’t sure if the generals had definitely heard them but Combes did twitch like he had made a movement to turn at the sound of his voice and stopped himself.

 

“I managed,” Hawkeye said drily. “Has General Widdon finished his search upstairs?” She asked and Ed shook his head.

 

“Technically, no. There’s a half dozen boxes that I refused to open on the basis that you could have keys for them so I wouldn’t have to use my alchemy,” Ed told her.

 

“I see. There are three boxes in the living room awaiting you, Sir. I didn’t have keys for those ones and assumed them to be sealed with alchemy,” Hawkeye explained as the generals furiously whispered behind her.

 

“Yeah, I saw them and figured that. Hopefully they aren’t booby-trapped,” Ed said nonchalantly, scratching his cheek as he watched the soldiers searching the backyard. “Do you know what’s in them?” Ed asked, eyes focusing back on Hawkeye.

 

“I believe them to hold his completed and more dangerous alchemic experiments, Sir,” Hawkeye told him. Ed didn’t get to answer her because the generals chose that moment to march back over to them and interrupt.

 

“Combes’ team will be searching Mustang’s car. Captain, hand over any keys you have for the boxes located in the study,” Widdon ordered. Hawkeye just looked at him.

 

“Hey, can I borrow you keys, please, Captain Hawkeye?” Ed asked, catching onto the reason behind Hawkeye’s silent rebellion.

 

“Of course, Sir.” Hawkeye immediately pulled out a small set of keys located in one of her breast pockets. “If none of these keys fit the boxes, you’ll need to use alchemy to open them,” Hawkeye told him as she handed the keys over.

 

“See what using your manners gets you? And my brother says I have none,” Ed scoffed. Hawkeye allowed an indulgent smile to grace her features before her impassive mask was back in place. Both generals’ lips twitched slightly upward, like they wanted to growl but managed to exert some level of self-control at the last moment.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, if it wouldn’t be too inconvenient on your part, perhaps you would be so kind as to escort us back into the house so we can finish executing our search warrant?” Widdon asked, disdain saturating his voice.

 

“There you go! Now, if you lose the childish attitude, you’d almost pass as civil,” Ed told him, tone falsely encouraging. “I’ll meet you out front when we’re done, Captain Hawkeye,” Ed said, flashing her a grin before heading for the door they’d used to get to the backyard.

 

“Very well, Sir,” Hawkeye said as Widdon snarled at his team to hurry up while Ed waited patiently at the door, going so far as to hold it open for them as they walked through, or huffed through in Widdon’s case. Ed grinned at the quiet ‘thanks’ he’d gotten from a couple of the team members as they passed him.  Hawkeye wasn’t sure if she imagined the glint of mischief in Ed’s eye as he disappeared behind the group or not. 

* * *

 

“Might as well start with these ones since we know the keys won’t work on them,” Ed said, deviating from Widdon’s determined path to the staircase and crouching next to the three boxes left in the living room. Widdon huffed in annoyance but didn’t bother arguing and letting his team fan out slightly to watch Ed.

 

Ed ignored them for the most part, slipping the small set of keys Hawkeye had given him into an empty pocket so he would have both hands free. Grabbing the box on top of the pile, he started visually taking it apart, looking for any signs of alchemy on it to indicate an array was used to seal it. Spotting some near-invisible signs, he started trying to figure out how Mustang could’ve sealed it; using his knowledge of what kind of alchemy Mustang knew and was somewhat competent in and his own gut instinct to figure out this puzzle.

 

“What is taking you so long? Stop delaying and just open the damned things,” Widdon snapped after a few minutes of silence and Ed doing nothing more than turn the box over in his hands and stare at it.

 

“I’m sorry, out of the two of us, who is the alchemist?” Ed asked rhetorically. “If you want me to open these, you’ll let me do it my way. Mustang isn’t an idiot, despite what you may think, and he wouldn’t have sealed these without a reason and I’m not willing to take the chance that the box could have an additional array that causes it to blow up if it isn’t unlocked with the right key or array,” Ed said scathingly. “I will take however damned long I please to open these boxes and you can deal with it. Or I can tell whoever questions me about why Mustang’s house was blown to pieces that you didn’t allow me the time to do my fricking job. Up to you.” Ed gave him the ultimatum and could see Widdon actually mull over his choices.

 

“Just hurry up,” Widdon eventually huffed irritably, crossing his arms in front of his chest to show his displeasure. Ed didn’t bother to hide his eye roll at the man before turning back to the box.

 

It took Ed a few more minutes before he decided on an array to try. He placed the box away from the others and clapped his hands together, the familiar ring echoing slightly in the room, before placing his hands on the sides of the box and let his alchemic energy dance over the box between his hands. To his slight relief, the lock clicked and nothing burst into flames. Stopping the transmutation, he repeated the process with the other two boxes after checking them over for any signs they weren’t sealed differently then stood up and took a few steps away, inviting the soldiers to rifle through the boxes.

 

Hill, Owen and Kali all took a box each and examined the papers and journals inside for anything to do with the murders. Ed hovered nearby, reading over their shoulders so they wouldn’t be tempted to try and memorise anything stored in the boxes. Widdon looked like he wanted to complain about Ed’s behaviour but there was a vindictive excitement in his features. Ed rolled his eyes once again when he realised that Widdon probably assumed the locked boxes must’ve held some kind of incriminating evidence.

 

“There’s nothing related to any of the victims or the cases in this box, Sir,” Owen told him, shutting the lid on the box he’d searched before joining Sanders and Nelson back where Widdon stood. It didn’t take long before Hill and Kali were stating the same thing. Widdon didn’t look happy at all with the news.

 

“Head to the study,” Widdon ordered, turning on his heel and marching to the staircase. His actions reminded Ed somewhat of Elysia stomping away from her mother when Gracia said she couldn’t have candy before dinner, which caused the blonde to shake his head as he followed the group up the stairs. They spread out the moment they entered the room and Ed swept past them all, his actions not giving Widdon any chance to try and order him around.

 

He studied the boxes in front of him before fishing the keys out of his pocket and trying each key on each box, only moving onto the next box when he’d either exhausted all the keys or had a key fit and unlock the box. Of the six boxes in the study, two didn’t have a key on the ring that fit them. Once he’d unlocked the last box, he put the keys back in his pocket and grabbed the first of the two unopened boxes so he could study it. Satisfied that it and the second one – once he inspected it – weren’t sealed differently to the three downstairs, Ed clapped his hands and placed one on each box before blue energy crackled across the boxes, unlocking them immediately.

 

The five soldiers swarmed on the boxes immediately, taking one each and leaving the sixth for whoever finished going through their box first since Widdon didn’t make any move to go through it himself, which Ed thought was dumb. The blonde watched as carefully as he’d done downstairs and wasn’t surprised that Sanders had been the first to declare his box clear of evidence. The box he’d chosen was one of the smaller ones so he got the honour of going through the final box.

 

One by one, the soldiers declared their boxes clear until only the sixth box that Sanders was searching through was the only one remaining. Ed hadn’t wanted to look at Widdon, knowing that if he did, he might not be able to contain his laughter at whatever expression the general was making but he eventually couldn’t resist the urge to sneak a glance. Widdon looked like he was pinning all of his hopes and dreams on that one box. Finally, Sanders closed the lid on the box and clicked the lock back in place before he turned to face his commanding officer.

 

“This box is clear, Sir,” Sanders told him, face almost as impassive as Hawkeye’s.

 

“What a shocker. Really, I’m surprised,” Ed said, voice obviously sarcastic, before clapping his hands together. “Alrighty. I think we’ve wasted enough time here. I’m sure Combes will be feeling the same disappointment as you very shortly. I _suggest_ ,” Ed emphasised the word, an obvious reference to Widdon’s behaviour when he’d assumed Ed was trying to order his men around, “we head out front since Combes volunteered to search Mustang’s car. Wouldn’t want to miss that,” Ed said flatly.

 

“Get outside,” Widdon ordered his team.

 

Ed was a little shocked at how calm his voice was but when the man’s green eyes met his gold ones briefly, he could see the ice-cold fury in them. Ed had known Widdon and Combes weren’t men who would take losing in any kind of situation gracefully but now he was actually worried about what that could mean for the case now that they’ve suffered such a massive blow to it. Not finding a single scrap evidence that so much as _hinted_ at Mustang’s supposed guilt in his home or car had thrown a serious wrench in their plans to have Mustang taken care of by manipulating the legal system. Ed also knew that if there was ever a time the two generals would actively try and slow their progress down so the week given to them by Grumman would result in nothing, it would be now. 

* * *

 

Ed was the last one out of the house, the six soldiers he’d been tasked to by Hawkeye were now slightly spread out on the front lawn as Ed closed the front door and locked it. A glance at the street showed an additional military car and a quick look at the driver confirmed it was Drayton, which meant the two hours Hawkeye had given her were up. A check of his pocket watch confirmed that it had indeed been nearly three hours since they’d sent Drayton off so she wouldn’t be sitting in the car, bored out of her mind. Lilah and a very blonde male soldier were standing in the middle of the front yard, watching everything.

 

Ed soon spotted Hawkeye standing at the opening of the car port in a relaxed stance and headed over to join her, offering Lilah a smile as he went and nodding to the unknown soldier. He observed Combes standing on the left of the car while his men searched the inside of the car, boot included. As he headed over to join Hawkeye, he noticed the bonnet of the car propped open and had to give Combes points for his dedication, at the very least.

 

“Anything to report, Edward?” Hawkeye asked, voice low as they watched Combes and his team and Ed kept Widdon and his team in his peripheral vision.

 

“Widdon is a sore loser,” Ed told her, grinning as he handed her keys back to her. “He didn’t find anything, of course, but I have a nasty feeling these two might try pressuring the Fuhrer soon to get Mustang put on trial quicker” Ed confided. “They might start becoming more of a hassle the sooner we approach the deadline and make things more difficult to slow us down.”

 

“I figured as much,” Hawkeye pursed her lips in displeasure. She went to say something more but Combes interrupted her unintentionally.

 

“Anything?” He barked as his men started shutting doors and stepping away from the vehicle.

 

“No, Sir. The car is clean. There’s no blood or other evidence to be seen, Sir,” one of his men informed him and it was exceptionally evident that Combes did not want to hear that news. Ed saw the way his chest inflated and how quickly his face turned a blustering red and put two and two together. Judging from the scared but resigned looks on his subordinates’ faces, they knew they were about to be torn a new one so Ed intervened.

 

“Well, as lovely as it was seeing you two idiots again – and by lovely, I mean the complete opposite – let’s never do this again,” Ed said, loud enough so Combes would hear him over his anger and Widdon would hear him, despite the distance between them. “Since you found absolutely nothing – a real shocker, that – you can all get off Mustang’s property and never step foot back on it. Thank you for wasting mine and Captain Hawkeye’s time. We’ll make sure to share everything you didn’t find with the rest of the team. They could probably do with a good laugh,” Ed snarked at the generals, causing both of them to puff up in anger at him.

 

“Mustang is guilty, boy, and you might as well accept it. You won’t find anything either because there’s nothing for you to find. When Mustang is found guilty, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure your contract with the military will never be renewed,” Widdon threatened and Ed blinked stupidly at him before letting out a bubble of laughter.

 

“Wow, you said that so seriously! Who said I planned on having my contract renewed anyway?” Ed asked, head cocked to the side slightly. “Actually, I don’t care. I believe I told you to leave. But by all means, stay, because I’d love to be able to tell Fuhrer Grumman how you refused to leave upon the conclusion of your search,” Ed said loftily.

 

“Mustang will go away for the crimes he’s accused of. You best stay out of our way if you know what’s good for you,” Combes growled at him as he and his men passed the two of them by.

 

“Was that a threat, General Combes?” Hawkeye asked, voice tight and filled with warning.

 

“If it was, Combes, I suggest you take a few minutes to let yourself remember what we did to the last group of people who threatened us. In case your memory has failed you in your old age, that group were the homunculi and their military supporters.” Ed’s eyes blazed with anger and he made sure to pin both generals with the gaze.

 

Neither group said anything to the two blondes as they glared at them while they climbed back into their cars. The two generals had separated themselves and ordered their drivers to head back to the base while their teams took the last two cars and followed, allowing Drayton to let their car crawl along the curb so they didn’t have to walk as far to meet her. Before they could though, Ed turned to the two remaining military members.

 

“Sorry we disrupted your day. How long do you guys have to go one your shift?” Ed asked.

 

“Only two more hours until Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes arrives with the next shift,” Lilah told him and Ed nodded.

 

“Okay. Can you let him know we sealed the house up, please? I don’t think we’ll be likely to run into him before then,” Ed said and Lilah nodded.

 

“Of course, Sir,” she said.

 

“Thanks. Have a good day, Warrant Officer Thomas and –“ Ed cut himself off when he realised he didn’t know the man’s name.

 

“Sergeant Matt Harvey, Sir,” the man introduced himself.

 

“Have a good day, Warrant Officer Thomas and Sergeant Harvey,” Ed said with a smile before Hawkeye echoed his words. Both soldiers saluted as they gave their own well-wishes that Ed and Hawkeye dismissed quickly before they climbed into the waiting car. Lilah and Matt were already moving back to their stations when Ed shut the door.

 

“Where to, Captain, Sir?” Drayton asked, wisely not asking about the exchange she’d witnessed, despite her curiousity.

 

“My apartment, please,” Hawkeye said before giving Drayton the address. “I hope you don’t mind, Ed, but I haven’t checked on Black Hayate since last night,” she told him and Ed nodded.

 

“Yeah, that’s fine with me,” Ed told her, giving her a smile that she returned. They allowed silence to reign before Ed decided to break it after a few minutes. “How’d you go with Combes, by the way?” He asked and Hawkeye sighed a little.

 

“He was very agitated the whole time we were in the house. I had to stop him numerous times from yelling at his subordinates because they couldn’t find any evidence of Brigadier-General Mustang’s non-existent guilt. You saw the mess he allowed them to make. He’d been the one to order them to upend the foodstuff in the pantry, convinced there was something hidden in the rice or flour,” Hawkeye told him. Her tone was the only thing that betrayed her annoyance. “When he decided there was nothing in the ground level of the house, he moved his team to the backyard and had tried ordering them to start digging. He was… displeased, to say the least, when I reminded him the warrant stipulated that digging up the yard wasn’t permitted,” Hawkeye sighed again. “You saw the way he was acting when he had his team search Brigadier-General Mustang’s car and how he was about to act when they told him they’d found nothing.” She shook her head at the memory of Combes’ disgusting treatment of his team. “How did Widdon’s search go?” She asked Ed, who chuckled a little.

 

“About the same though Widdon didn’t seem to act like he was going to blame his team for not producing incriminating from thin air, so he had that going for him. He didn’t appreciate it when I stopped him from splitting the team up or when I told him I wouldn’t be using alchemy on the boxes until I knew you had no keys for them. Then he was annoyed with how long it took me to examine the boxes in the living room and decide on an unlocking array that wouldn’t blow the box and/or me up.” Ed rolled his eyes before grinning. “I definitely got a few opportunities to be less than respectful towards him so I was mildly entertained for some of it.” Hawkeye shook her head fondly at him before leaning back against her seat slightly.

 

“I find myself glad that I didn’t let you escort General Combes.” Ed hadn’t really expected her to say something like that so it took him a moment to say anything in return.

 

“Why’s that?” He asked curiously.

 

“Because I wouldn’t have been able to keep my promise to Alphonse to keep you out of trouble if I had,” Hawkeye lightly teased him and grinned slightly when she was rewarded with indignant spluttering from the blonde. As she listened to his claims that he did know where to draw the line, she allowed herself to wonder how the rest of her team and the BAU had gone today.


	13. Chapter 13

Morgan had enjoyed the down-time after breakfast, spending the time watching everyone else and engaging in some idle chatter before he knew that his small group would have to leave. True enough, half an hour after the last bakery goods had been devoured, Falman had indicated that they could head to the lab now. A nod to Reid had the youngest BAU member ready to go and after a quick goodbye to everyone – Ed had been so caught up in his job that he hadn’t even noticed, causing everyone to laugh or grin in amusement – they headed out of the office, Falman in the lead. 

 

They elected to walk since the lab wasn’t very far away from the base and it gave the two BAU members a chance to really have a look at the city they were in. The lack of technological advancements was the most blinding difference between this word and theirs. There weren’t any electric billboards, neon lights on bars, and the cars looked like ones Morgan had only ever seen at car shows or in the old movies. The buildings were muted in colour and design and there wasn’t as much advertisements for products as Morgan and Reid were used to seeing. The air smelt cleaner and fresher here than it had ever done in America and Reid suggested that maybe it was due to the fact that the country wasn’t as advanced as theirs, which meant there weren’t as many factories mass-producing cell-phones or televisions and polluting the air. 

 

Falman was quiet during the walk, only talking whenever Reid or Morgan asked him questions about some of the things they’d observed. The two BAU members knew the man was listening to them though so they didn’t mind the quiet. When they finally arrived at the lab, Morgan was surprised at how small it was. When compared to the buildings around it, it was quite large but when compared to some of the crime labs they’d seen during their cases, this building was small. They followed Falman through the front door and were immediately greeted by a receptionist.

 

“Good morning. How can we help you?” She asked, giving them a polite, well-practised smile.

 

“Good morning. We wish to speak to whoever is in charge of the evidence collected during the recent serial killings,” Falman asked, voice emotionless.

 

“If you would please take a seat, I’ll see if they’re available to talk with you,” she offered, gesturing to the set of comfortable-looking chairs waiting against the wall.

 

“Thank you, ma’am,” Falman said before leading the other two over to the seats while the receptionist picked up her phone.

 

They listened as the receptionist exchanged a few words with someone before agreeing to be put o hold. There wasn’t anything to do as they waited to find out when they could be seen yet. Reid pulled out a book from his shoulder bag and opened it immediately while Morgan shook his head fondly at the man.

 

“Lieutenant?” The sound of the receptionist’s voice broke them out of their thoughts. “Doctor Nesbo is able to meet with you in twenty minutes,” she told them and Falman nodded in acknowledgment. The receptionist uncovered the mouth piece of the phone and hung up after a short conversation.

 

Twenty minutes later, a man in his early 40’s walked into the waiting area wearing clothing similar to Alphonse’s and a lab coat. He said something to the receptionist, too low for any of them to hear, but she only nodded in response before directing him to them with a glance.

 

“Hello, I’m Doctor Dean Nesbo,” the man introduced himself, shaking their hands. “It’s good seeing you again, Lieutenant Falman. Who else do we have here?” He asked, looking at Morgan and Reid curiously.

 

“I’m Derek Morgan and this is Doctor Spencer Reid,” Morgan introduced them, nodding to Reid, who gave Nesbo a smile that the man returned.

 

“Pleasure to meet the both of you. What can I do for you?” He asked curiously. It wasn’t every day he was personally asked for by a member of Mustang’s team or two unknowns with accents he couldn’t place.

 

“We were wondering if we could talk to you somewhere private about the results of the tests you were asked to run by Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes regarding the string of murders?” Falman requested. Nesbo nodded like he’d been kind of expecting that. Morgan surmised it wasn’t exactly a hard conclusion to reach considering Mustang’s team wasn’t working on any cases right now.

 

“Of course. We can go talk in my lab if you’ll follow me?” Nesbo suggested, immediately getting agreements from the three of them.

 

The building was only five storeys high and from what they observed as they walked through to the second floor, the actual laboratories must’ve been located on the three storeys above while offices were kept on the second floor and secretaries and other employees who weren’t permitted to work in the labs were based. Nesbo led them to an office with his name on the door, let them go through first before shutting the door firmly behind them.

 

“Now, what would you like to know? Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes briefed me a couple of days ago about you possibly paying us a visit and gave me permission to share any results with you,” Nesbo told them, hoping to ease any concerns that he’d been ordered to do the exact opposite right off the bat.

 

“Thank you,” Morgan said. “To start with, what tests were you asked to run?”

 

“We were asked to run tests on anything the coroner sent us, including tests to the clothing remnants to see if there was proof of any accelerant used and tests on the blood to determine if there was anything in it to suggest the victim had been drugged beforehand or if there was carbon monoxide, suggesting they were alive when they were set alight. We were also asked to run tests on the blood found at the crime scene to see if there was more than one blood type found. We ran tests on the victims military-issued weapons – if they had them on them – to see if they were fired,” Nesbo told them.

 

“Can I ask why you haven’t reported any results to Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes yet?” Morgan asked and Nesbo sighed a little.

 

“Unfortunately, there is no reason other than we haven’t had the time to run the tests yet. We’ve only started running the tests in the last two days, when Fuhrer Grumman called and asked us to prioritise this case since the accused might be going to trial shortly,” Nesbo explained. “When Promised Day happened, our sister lab was destroyed and most of those employed there, not to mention a significant percentage here, were killed in the ensuing battle. Since then, we’ve been doing the work of two labs with about 80% of the staff of the two labs combined. We’ve got a back log of cases a mile long. We’re only now started testing evidence from cases sent to us three months ago. Fuhrer Grumman has since started constructing a second lab for us to use but it won’t be operational for a few more months. We’ve been lucky that there hasn’t been an abundance of crimes that needs the lab’s help or we’d be further behind.” Nesbo almost shuddered at the thought. They’d had to run so much overtime in the first few months after Promised Day so they wouldn’t have an even bigger backlog and were only now starting to let more than those on the first-floor finish at the times they were supposed to.

 

“Alright, we can understand being understaffed,” Morgan said with a wry smile. “Can you explain any results from any of the tests you’ve managed to run yet?” He asked imploringly. Nesbo nodded, opened a drawer next to him and rifled through it before letting out a small sound of victory when he found whatever it was that he was looking for.

 

“We got the results from the ballistics tests back first. No bullets were found at any crime scene and there was no evidence the guns that Colonel Summers, Brigadier-General Henley or Major-General Andrews were carrying were fired recently,” Nesbo said.

 

“What about the guns Captain Bryce and Major Pardi carried?” Reid asked but Nesbo shook his head.

 

“Neither were armed the night they were attacked. The coroner never found evidence of their holsters on their remains and tests run here never found any trace of leather to suggest the holster had simply melted beyond recognition. I believe witness statements also corroborate that theory,” Nesbo said and Reid made the note, frowning slightly. He couldn’t remember reading that but maybe it had been part of what Sheska had read. He’d find out later.

 

“Please continue, Doctor Nesbo,” Morgan said, politely.

 

“Of course,” Nesbo grabbed the next file. “We managed to gather numerous fingerprints, however they were found in a public alleyway so identifying them all is both a massive job and not really a priority for this case. What we’re doing instead is comparing them to samples of the accused’s fingerprints to either exclude the possibility of him being there or prove he was. We’re not holding our breath to get a match considering General Armstrong confirmed her attacker wore gloves,” Nesbo explained.

 

“Was that why you took samples from the gloves?” Falman asked, his interest piqued.

 

“Yes,” Nesbo told him. “We took fibres from the gloves, as well as swabs from them, to see what we could find. So far, none of the fibres collected at the scene seem to match the samples collected from the gloves but there were six crime scenes and all of the crime scenes were easily accessible to the public and rarely cleaned so there are hundreds of samples to go through. We’ve barely made a dent.” Nesbo sighed before shaking himself and grabbing the next file. “Another thing we have an abundance of is hair and it’s almost as helpful as the fingerprints.” Nesbo sighed once more.

 

“What do you mean?” Morgan asked, frowning a little. Fingerprints and hair were things that would almost guarantee a case. Why would that not be the case here?

 

“While we can differentiate between animal hair and human hair, our technology isn’t advanced enough to tell us which human that hair came from. Lieutenant-Colonel Elric has a theory that we could be able to use blood and hair found at a scene to identify people in the same way fingerprints work. He thinks our genetic structures found in blood and hair, for example, would be as unique as our fingerprint but we lack the technology to prove it,” Nesbo told them excitedly before resuming his previous professional demeanour. “But as it stands, right now all we can do is tell what kinds and colours of animals have been in the alley and what possible hair colour and length any human had that was in the immediate area,” Nesbo told them. “Again, these scenes were very public so it’s not like the hairs or fibres will be something that will help the prosecution with their case.”

 

“Have you started any tests for accelerants on the victims’ clothing?” Morgan asked and Nesbo frowned in thought before digging through his files again.

 

“I think we started on that yesterday. Those tests take a lot longer to produce results than the others we’re running,” Nesbo explained as he opened the appropriate folder. “Our preliminary reports support Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ observations at the crime scene. If there was an accelerant used, it wasn’t something like gasoline. In fact, there was no identifiable odour on the test samples other than what you’d expect to smell; burnt flesh, charred cloth, alcohol,” Nesbo told them. “We’re obviously running more in-depth tests but so far, there isn’t any evidence to support an accelerant.”

 

“You said there was blood evidence collected?” Reid probed and Nesbo nodded once more.

 

“Yes, however those tests are still being run as well, for the most part. We have determined though that there was a significant level of carbon monoxide in each victim’s blood,” Nesbo told them. “We have typed the samples and there are several however quite a lot of those samples were anywhere from a few days to a few months old and were somehow saved from being washed away by rain or street cleaners,” Nesbo informed them.

 

“What about those samples that weren’t too old?” Morgan asked, jumping on what Nesbo hadn’t said.

 

“Well, they were typed, of course. In each case, the victim was found shortly after death. Within a few hours, if I remember correctly. At this time of year, Central is very humid, even during the night. We’ve found that in those sorts of weather conditions, blood takes longer to dry, which means that we were able to tell which blood samples were most recent just because of that,” Nesbo explained as he flicked through the file that he’d pulled in front of him. “In the cases of Bryce, Pardi, Summers, Henley and Armstrong, only one recent sample was found near the bodies.”

 

“But not at Andrews?” Reid asked and Nesbo tilted his head at him.

 

“But not at Andrews,” Nesbo said in agreement. “It was only a small sample, barely big enough for us to type but there was a second sample that was the same age as the blood splatter from Andrews. We typed it and the person it came from is ‘O+’ which narrows our suspect pool down to 30% of the entire Amestris population.” Nesbo tried to hide it but the three other men present could hear the slightly exasperated tone in his voice. Both Morgan and Reid could sympathise with the information being provided but not overly helpful.

 

“Do you have Mustang’s blood type?” Reid asked and they could all tell what the response would be just from Nesbo’s demeanour.

 

“Yes, and it matches the blood found at the scene,” Nesbo told them. That’s exactly what they’d expected the man to say.

 

“Alright. Do you have a time-frame for when you think the tests that are still being performed will produce results?” Morgan asked and Nesbo shrugged.

 

“I’m hoping within the next couple of days. Like I said earlier, this is a priority case thanks to Fuhrer Grumman asking for it to be. We’re still running tests on the samples from the gloves Lieutenant Falman brought us. We are still working on other cases but this one does take precedent, don’t worry,” Nesbo assured them. “If nothing happens to interfere with our tests, you and Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes will have the results before the week is up,” Nesbo told them with a hopeful smile.

 

“We’ll keep our fingers crossed everything goes your way,” Morgan said with a smile.

 

“We’d appreciate it. Is there anything else I can help you with?” Nesbo asked and Reid jumped on the opportunity.

 

“I wouldn’t mind a tour of your labs, if you have the time to spare. I have a doctorate in chemistry, as well as a couple of other fields. I might be able to offer a few suggestions that could help you with your cases,” Reid said, ignoring Morgan’s muttered ‘nerd’ as he looked at Nesbo hopefully.

 

“I’d be delighted to show you around and pick your brain,” Nesbo said with a grin, jumping up from his seat and rushing around his desk to open the door for them.

 

Morgan groaned as he followed his excitable teammate through the office door, watching Nesbo as he and Reid delved into science talk. Falman was a silent companion, listening to Reid and Nesbo with a similar intenseness to Morgan but he also seemed a little bit interested in what they were talking about. Morgan shook his head in fond exasperation as he watched Reid though. At least some of them were able to have a bit of fun. 

* * *

 

Forty minutes after Morgan, Reid and Falman had left for the labs, Hotch, Maria and Rossi made their own way out of the office. To their complete lack of surprise, Ed didn’t notice them leave but everyone else was kind enough to wish them good luck. Alphonse had handed Rossi a pile of newspapers before shaking his head at his brother’s complete lack of reaction when the three of them shut the door behind them.

 

“I knew Ed was dedicated to his work but I didn’t think he’d miss two groups of people leaving the same room he was in,” Rossi remarked as they headed for the holding cells that contained Mustang.

 

“I think you’ll find he didn’t notice because you weren’t a threat to him or anyone around him. He barely reacted any time Brosh or I brought him and Alphonse food while they were working to crack Doctor Marcoh’s notes on the Philosopher’s Stone but I’ve seen him come out of three-day reading binges at the drop of a hat because of a threat near him,” Maria confided to them.

 

They didn’t talk much after that revelation since the base had started showing more signs of life. Maria led them straight to the holding cells, only offering polite ‘good mornings’ to the soldiers who’d wished her one as they walked past. Hotch and Rossi didn’t recognise the soldier posted in front of the building containing the holding cells nor did they recognise the one manning the desk but they gave her a smile as they signed the log-in sheet and checked their weapons in before being informed that Mustang was currently talking to his lawyer and they wouldn’t be permitted to go through until they’d been given permission to be present while the two spoke or until the lawyer left. At Hotch’s request, the soldier called for a guard to ask the lawyer if they might be permitted to join them. A few minutes later, the female soldier gestured they could go through.

 

“I was told there were six of you,” was the first thing the three of them were greeted with as Mustang’s cell came into view. Kenneth Lanco wasn’t a tall man but the way he held himself with confidence gave them no reason to think he wouldn’t be able to wipe the floor with them. He had piercing eyes, black hair that was cut like Alphonse’s and a severe look on his face.

 

“The rest of our team is working on different leads. I’m Aaron Hotchner, team leader,” Hotch introduced himself, offering a hand for the smaller man to shake.

 

“David Rossi.” Rossi’s hand was also offered and Lanco was quick to let go of Hotch’s and grasp Rossi’s.

 

“Lieutenant Maria Ross.” Maria offered a salute rather than a handshake. Lanco simply nodded in response to that.

 

“Kenneth Lanco,” he told them, a touch sharply. Rossi took the opportunity to hand the newspapers over to Mustang.

 

“Thank you, Rossi,” Mustang said as he accepted the pile of papers and placed them on his cot before facing them again. “It’s good to see the three of you. Has anything happened?” Mustang asked, barely remembering to offer pleasantries before asking questions.

 

“Well, in about 3 hours, your youngest subordinate and Captain are going to accompany the two generals and their teams to your house so they can search it and I don’t think Edward has any plans to be semi-respectful if he can help it,” Hotch informed him. Mustang seemed to pale a little.

 

“If Hawkeye’s there, my house stands a chance of surviving the three of them being under its roof at the same time,” Mustang told them though Hotch and Rossi thought it sounded more like a prayer.

 

“We have gathered some more information regarding the case. Nothing that will, unfortunately, get you out of here any quicker but certainly plenty of information that Mr. Lanco here can use to cast reasonable doubt,” Rossi told him, leaving the topic of Mustang’s house and its future for the moment. His statement certainly got Lanco’s attention.

 

“What information?” He demanded, grabbing a notebook and pen from an inside jacket pocket.

 

“We believe the unsub – unknown suspect, that is – to be petite in build and slightly shorter than Mustang or General Armstrong with alchemic talents. Edward is leaning towards perhaps an earth alchemist but he also told us that nearly every alchemist worth their salt knew earth arrays and could perform them well enough,” Rossi told them and Mustang sighed.

 

“Yeah, that’s true. Earth alchemy is easy enough to learn but challenging enough to weed out those who have alchemic energy but not a lot of it, like Moore,” Mustang said. “What else did you learn?” He asked, straightening from where he’d slumped slightly.

 

“The unsub used their alchemy to create small barrier wall to hide behind when they lured their victim in, with the exception of Henley’s crime scene. We found no evidence of alchemy used in such a way there but Edward has a theory about why. He thinks Henley wouldn’t have fallen for the wounded, helpless victim in a dark alley. He’s of the opinion she was too much of a paranoid bitch to fall for it so the unsub lured her in another way; offering information against yourself or Edward so she could escape the charges you wanted to lay against her, perhaps,” Rossi told him and Mustang nodded in agreement. “We also believe this unsub has combat training but hasn’t had a reason to use the training regularly. They have the skills necessary to take the victims out but we also think they relied more on an ambush attack – the blows to the backs of their heads certainly indicate this – rather than those skills to take them down. The only times they may have had to use them were against Andrews and Armstrong, evidenced by Armstrong’s survival and the signs of struggle we found at Andrews crime scene.”

 

“Just combat training? Not stealth?” Mustang asked and Rossi shook his head as Lanco continued taking notes.

 

“No, Armstrong told us that they had to muffle their breathing when she kept trying to get back up and they had to keep knocking her down. She also remembered hearing a surprised gasp when she didn’t fall for the trap and the unsub wore a perfume or cologne of some kind. I would imagine that stealth training would’ve meant that they would’ve had more control over their breathing and they’d know not to wear something distinctive,” Rossi said.

 

“Fair point,” Mustang conceded.

 

“The uniform the unsub was wearing was also missing a button but Brookes couldn’t recall seeing a button at any of the crime scenes so it’s likely it fell off at any scene before Armstrong’s and the suspect picked it up when they removed any other trace of themselves from the scene,” Hotch informed them. Lanco made a disappointed tsk but didn’t say anything just yet.

 

“Armstrong also reported that she heard a scratching noise before she saw any sparks. Do your gloves make any noise when you ignite a flame?” Rossi asked and Mustang truly looked perplexed.

 

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I can’t remember hearing them scratch before I snap my fingers,” Mustang furrowed a brow in thought. “No, I definitely don’t think they do. I never once noticed a scratching noise and no one has ever approached me asking about it,” Mustang said definitively.

 

“Okay. That could help prove that your gloves weren’t used during these attacks. If we can discredit their use during Armstrong’s attack, we can cause reasonable doubt on them being used in the other crimes since the defence’s whole case rests on Armstrong’s attack being part of the string of murders and her testimony,” Lanco said as he scribbled on the pages of his notebook.

 

“Edward did say something else struck him as odd during Armstrong’s report on the sparks, aside from the scratching noise. He says he’s never seen or heard of you struggling to ignite a flame and cause sparks before,” Hotch said, though his tone seemed to be asking Mustang to confirm or deny what Ed said.

 

“The simplest way to describe how my alchemy works is that I create a small spark with my gloves when I snap and the array on my glove activates to turn that spark into the attack I desire. To create just sparks that don’t lead to an actual fire attack is extremely difficult and, to be honest, an almost completely useless waste of energy. Sparks are good only for signalling my team when we’ve been separated somewhere dark but other than that, creating just sparks is a showy waste of energy,” Mustang told them.

 

“If I were the one behind these attacks, specifically behind Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s attack, I wouldn’t be wasting my time creating sparks for no reason and the only reason I wouldn’t be able to create a flame immediately is if my gloves were wet – which also means no spark – or if the array or gloves were damaged; again, no spark would be created in that kind of case either. If I was the attacker, I’d be more concerned with killing my target immediately so I could lessen my chances of being caught or seen so I wouldn’t waste time by making sparks that don’t lead to an actual attack,” Mustang explained, gesturing with his hands as best he could to emphasise his points.

 

“That’ll also help, especially since Armstrong’s report says her attacker made sparks after she heard the first door close inside the building,” Lanco told him and Mustang nodded, though he didn’t seem pleased that some of his defence mounted on the fact that he would’ve killed them outright rather than show off.

 

“Another thing that the team who investigated the crime scene figured out was that the killer is likely left-handed, from the way Henley’s body was found. Edward already told us you were ambidextrous, though,” Rossi told them both, wincing a little apologetically at Mustang when he revealed that information. Mustang waved the silent apology off with a slight sigh.

 

“Yeah, I’ve always been ambidextrous but discovered that my attacks varied depending on which hand I used to snap with. My right hand, for example, is better for creating explosive attacks whereas my more refined attacks are produced from my left hand. I surmise my right hand is better with explosions because I favour it when it comes to everyday things, like my paperwork, so I have much more control over it than my left, which is very helpful if you don’t want an explosion to get out of hand,” Mustang told them, a little annoyed that his ambidexterity would count against him now.

 

“Given this new information, can you think of anyone who matches the description who would have cause to want you arrested and charged with these crimes?” Hotch asked. He didn’t show his disappointment when Mustang shook his head.

 

“No. No one I know of matches that description and has any kind of grudge against me that might give them reason to want me in jail,” Mustang sighed a little as he admitted that. Lanco looked a touch disappointed but didn’t let it show for very long.

 

“Alright. If that’s everything your team has uncovered, I’ll take my leave. I still need to do my job and prepare our defence in case you guys don’t somehow find the real murderer before this case goes to trial,” Lanco announced, tucking his notepad back into his jacket.

 

“Actually, we would love to join you at your office and talk with you about your defence plans, if you’re amiable. I worked as a federal prosecutor for many years and may have some suggestions for you. There’s also a couple of things we’d like you to talk to you about,” Hotch said and Lanco considered it for a moment.

 

“Very well. I’ll wait out the front for you,” Lanco said before turning to Mustang. “I’ll see you in the morning, as usual. In the meantime, try to think of someone who fits what they told you, even if you don’t think they have a motivation to want you here,” Lanco ordered. Mustang looked amused at the fact he was being ordered but nodded in agreement. Satisfied with that response, Lanco turned on his heel and headed for the front entrance, with a look that clearly told the BAU not to keep him waiting for too long.

 

“What else can I do for you?” Mustang asked once Lanco was gone.

 

“Nothing, really. Just do as your lawyer suggested. Come up with a list of names who you think might be the person behind all of this, even if you also think the chances of them being this person is slim to none,” Rossi said and Mustang nodded once. “Do you want anything else?” Rossi asked, gesturing to the newspapers.

 

“Thank you but no. These newspapers should last me for a little while. Thank you again for bringing them,” Mustang said, giving them a small but grateful smile.

 

“Thank Alphonse. He’s the one who gathered them up for you,” Hotch told him and Mustang huffed out some laughter.

 

“I’ll thank him when I see him next than,” Mustang told them before nodding his chin in the direction of the door. “Lanco isn’t a man who likes to be kept waiting at all. You should go before he really does leave,” Mustang warned, eyes twinkling slightly with amusement.

 

“We’ll do that. We’ll see you later, Mustang,” Rossi said. Hotch and Maria offered their own goodbyes and Mustang gave them a wave as he watched them head after his lawyer. Once he couldn’t see them anymore, he sat on his bed, back against the wall and cross-legged on his mattress before grabbing the newspapers and sorting through them before opening the oldest one and started reading. 

* * *

 

Hotch, Rossi and Maria were quick to catch up with Lanco and, once they signed themselves out and recovered their weapons, followed the lawyer to his personal car and hopped in once the invite to do so was extended. They drove in silence for a couple of minutes before it was broken.

 

“Mr. Lanco, may I ask you a question?” Hotch asked and Lanco nodded for him to do so. “Why did you agree to defend Mustang? I can’t imagine many lawyers would’ve done so, especially with the rumours about the generals pushing for his arrest and the evidence currently gathered.” Lanco’s lips curled into a small, sharp grin for a moment.

 

“I owed Mustang a favour and he cashed it in. Admittedly, even if I didn’t owe him, I likely would’ve agreed to represent him,” Lanco told them honestly.

 

“Why?” Rossi asked and Lanco met his gaze in the rear-vision mirror momentarily before watching the road again.

 

“I made my career defending people who have been screwed over by the military, a greedy company or other such things. Usually when I’m defending someone against the military, I’m defending my client against one or two high-ranked officers who let their positions go to their head. I knew there was something wrong with the previous Fuhrer but I didn’t get the opportunity to go after him before he died because he was too good at covering his tracks. In Mustang’s case, it seems like just about every general here in Central wants him gone. I wouldn’t be surprised if nearly every general in the military wanted him out of the picture. This time though, I can say for certain the Fuhrer is absolutely not involved in the generals business which definitely helps me. Fuhrer Grumman is doing everything in his legal power to make sure Mustang and I aren’t railroaded by the generals and that Mustang gets a textbook fair trial, a rarity in military courts over the past few years,” Lanco sighed as he made a turn.

 

“What favour did Mustang do for you that was big enough for you to agree to take his case on, if you don’t mind me asking?” Hotch asked, curiousity evident in his voice.

 

“He helped me with a problem I had a few years ago. I think his alchemist had only just come in under his command when this happened,” Lanco told them as he drove. “I had a client who had been attacked by a general. It was just a drunken brawl that several witnesses said the general started and all my client wanted was for the general to pay for their hospital bills as they were struggling financially. My client spoke to the police and this general’s lawyer and told them he wouldn’t press charges if his medical bills were taken care of. Since they weren’t anything a general couldn’t afford but were expensive enough that my client and his children would be forced to live on the streets, my client had thought it was a fair deal. The general’s lawyer had told his client, who had agreed to the deal only to try and wiggle his way out of it, saying he hadn’t done anything wrong and shouldn’t be forced to pay for someone else’s medical bills just because that person claimed the general had attacked him.” Lanco snorted in annoyance.

 

“Sounds about typical of someone in that kind of position,” Rossi commented. “What happened?” Lanco slowed the car to allow some pedestrians to cross the road.

 

“My client came to me. He’d heard how these kinds of cases were what I usually took on and offered me everything he had to his name if I would help him fight this case. Honestly, my fees would’ve been more than the hospital bill and when I pointed that out to him, he told me he wasn’t doing this just because of himself and his family but so he could try and stop the general from doing the same thing – or worse – to someone else,” Lanco told them. “I was impressed and took a look at his case. It was straight-forward enough and seemed like an easy enough win so I took it on pro bono.”

 

“That was admirable of you,” Hotch said and Lanco nodded.

 

“Honestly, I was planning on using the case as a way to further my standing as a lawyer,” Lanco told them. “But back to the case. We had just started looking into it and interviewing witnesses whose stories all changed over-night, practically, and were now saying my client had started the brawl. When I pointed out they’d given sworn statements saying the opposite to police – then reminded them lying to the police was illegal – they all told me they’d been threatened by someone so they’d keep their mouths shut against the general. I had them give me sworn statements and descriptions of the man who’d threatened them so I could add charges of witness tampering to the general’s list of crimes. When I arrived back at my office, I discovered a letter on my desk telling me to back off the case and threatening my family and friends,” Lanco revealed and all of his passengers felt anger on his behalf.

 

“I don’t know how he found out but the next morning, Mustang came by to see me. All he said was that he’d heard rumours of the general trying to bully witnesses into changing their story so he wouldn’t have to pay my client’s medical bills and said he had information on the general and the name and location of the man who the general had hired to ‘talk’ with the witnesses. Thanks to Mustang and his team, the general and the man he hired were put away for their crimes and my client’s medical bills were paid in full. I told Mustang that if he ever needed a lawyer, to give me a call. When Major-General Andrews was discovered, Mustang had Captain Hawkeye call me and put me on stand-by in case they arrested him. That’s why I agreed to represent him,” Lanco finished recounting the story and there was silence for a few moments as they all processed what they were just told.

 

“I’m glad the general paid for his crimes in the end,” Hotch said just as Lanco pulled into a parking lot next to a small, two-storey building.

 

“Me too,” Lanco revealed. “We’re here, by the way. Follow me inside. I have some questions for you guys too,” Lanco said, opening his door and stepping out of the car, grabbing the keys from the ignition as he did so. He locked the car once they were all out and gestured for them to follow him. 

* * *

 

Prentiss watched as first Morgan, Reid and Falman left the office and were followed by Rossi, Hotch and Maria before an hour had passed between the first trio’s departure. Edward hadn’t looked up from his papers, except to ask Hawkeye a question when he needed to, and she was growing a little bored. She’d managed to interview the co-workers of the first four victims with Havoc’s help the previous day. It helped that Major Pardi’s co-workers weren’t as numerous as everyone else’s, what with him only interacting with his commanding officer’s team and a very select few other alchemists on a regular basis. Bryce hadn’t really been assigned to a team since his conduct meant he’d simply been passed from one command to another when needed. Prentiss shook her head slightly at the fact that the man had never been discharged from the military. It would’ve saved a lot of headaches but his behaviour hadn’t been bad enough to warrant a discharge, just warnings and reassignment when needed.

 

After half an hour of waiting once Hotch, Rossi and Maria had left with the newspapers Alphonse had given them, Havoc finished the part of his work that was most pressing and nodded to the door, indicating they could leave. Prentiss didn’t hesitate, hopping up out of her chair and joining up with Havoc at the door to a small chorus of goodbyes from nearly everyone before the pair of them left.

 

“Are you sure the rest of your work can wait? I don’t think Captain Hawkeye is someone who would be happy if you left it unfinished so you could escort someone to interviews,” Prentiss asked, not wanting the man being shot to be on her conscious because he chose to accompany her rather than do his work.

 

“Nah, Hawkeye’s good with it. She okayed me leaving now, in any case, so I’m not in any danger from her gun,” Havoc grinned, shoving his hands in his pockets as he strolled along next to her with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. “Where are we heading to anyways?” He asked and Prentiss showed him her notepad of names, some crossed off and some not.

 

“We need to go talk to anyone who worked with Major-General Andrews regularly,” Prentiss told him. “Now, I’ve already interviewed Generals Widdon and Combes so I know they won’t offer anything new but I thought we could start with General Andrews team and get suggestions of who else we should talk to as they’ll be the ones who know who he interacted with the most at work,” Prentiss told him. Havoc nodded in agreement.

 

“From what I know, General Andrews team has been kept together until a permanent replacement for him is assigned. For now, they’re temporarily under the command of the next highest-ranking officer on the team, Lieutenant-Colonel Eloise Lambert. She’s doing a good job but they’re still a man short and have to try and cover the same amount of work General Andrews had to do plus all of their own work so it’s been a bit tough,” Havoc told her and Prentiss looked a little confused.

 

“Why hasn’t a replacement for Andrews been assigned yet? It’s been a few days now since he was found,” she asked and Havoc shrugged a shoulder.

 

“When the bossman staged his coup against the military and helped the chief fight during Promised Day, a lot of the higher-ups were either killed or later uncovered to be traitors. The military went through a massive reshuffle and once Fuhrer Grumman was placed in command, he went through the whole military staff with a fine-toothed comb. He still is since it’s a massive job but he was still forced to promote people in order to fill the ranks so we could keep the country from falling apart completely,” Havoc told her. “Frankly, there really isn’t anyone available who can be trusted to do what Andrews was doing and isn’t needed in their current stations. Fuhrer Grumman has to be careful who takes over for Andrews since he’s basically in charge of one of the most powerful branches of the military; the State Alchemists. Grumman can’t afford to put just anyone in that kind of position of power. Mustang had always been slated to be Andrews replacement if the man had ever retired,” Havoc pointed out.

 

“How long does he have before he has to find someone?” Prentiss asked as they walked along the corridor.

 

“Technically, Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert can stay in charge of their team for a month before a replacement needs to be announced. Chances are that that replacement will keep their team and Andrews’ team will be split and placed with other teams. The only reason that wouldn’t happen is if the replacement’s team is too inexperienced in the kind of work Andrews team takes on,” Havoc told her as he led her up another corridor and stopped in front of a door. “We’re here,” Havoc announced, a little unnecessarily but Prentiss didn’t say anything as he raised a fist and knocked before being permitted entrance.

 

“Good morning, Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert.” Havoc saluted once he entered the room and shut the door behind Prentiss. Lambert waved the salute away dismissively. Prentiss had the time to take in the woman’s slightly frazzled appearance while Havoc introduced her.

 

“Pleasure. This is Captain Anthony Hurd and Lieutenant Ryan Greene. The rest of the team is out at the moment. What do you need, Lieutenant Havoc?” Lambert asked tersely.

 

“Miss Prentiss would like to ask you some questions about Major-General Andrews, if you have ten minutes to spare,” Havoc said, unperturbed by the slightly rude behaviour from Lambert.

 

“Honestly, no. Since Andrews death, we’ve been flat out trying to keep on top of our work. That’s what everyone else is out doing; chasing up missing reports from alchemists, gathering damages reports from other departments. We really don’t have the time right now. I’m sorry.” Lambert did truly sound sorry and exhausted. Havoc went to say something but Prentiss stopped him.

 

“We understand. Can I ask for a list of names of people who he interacted with regularly for his job? Anyone who he saw or talked to at least three or more times in a week and/or seemed close to?” Prentiss requested and Lambert looked relieved they weren’t going to press the matter. She grabbed a nearby notepad, flipped to a blank page and scrawled out some names before tearing the page off the pad and handing it to Prentiss.

 

“Andrews was based in West City before he transferred here after Promised Day. We transferred with him. One name on that list – Samuel Campbell – was a good friend of Andrews in West City. He’ll be able to give you any names of people he thinks you should talk to in West City, if you need them,” Lambert told them and Prentiss gave her a grateful smile as she folded the paper up and pocketed it.

 

“Thank you, Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert. We won’t take any more of your time. Have a good day,” Prentiss said. Havoc said his own goodbye and they left the office quickly before heading a bit down the corridor before stopping so Prentiss could pull the paper out and show Havoc the names.

 

“Some of them are here in Central but the rest are in West City or other cities so we’ll have to call them. Do you want to do those ones first?” Havoc asked and Prentiss thought it over.

 

“Let’s interviews those who are here first. We can do phone calls after lunch,” Prentiss said decisively. Havoc took another look at the list of names and pointed to the one closest to them now. Prentiss nodded in agreement before Havoc led them to where they needed to go.

 

There was a total of fifteen names on the list Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert had given them. Seven of those names were of people not located in Central which left eight people for Prentiss and Havoc to interview here in the city. Havoc had suggested that they head back to the office and ask JJ and Fuery to join them so they could split up the list and get everyone done but Prentiss had vetoed that decision for two reasons; she knew JJ would be busy going over the newspapers and other medias – which meant Fuery would be as well – and she knew they could talk to everyone on the list before Ed and Hawkeye got back from joining the two generals at Mustang’s house.

 

Prentiss managed to keep her cool, calm, collected mask in place until they walked out of the office the eighth and final person’s office near lunchtime before she let loose a few interesting cuss words, much to the amusement of one Jean Havoc.

 

“Something wrong, Agent Prentiss?” Havoc asked as he lit up the cigarette he’d placed between his lips. Prentiss levelled him with an unimpressed stare before sighing and letting her anger bleed out of her before she actually snapped at Havoc.

 

“Is that what all of the higher-ups in this military are like?” Prentiss asked, gesturing back at the general’s office they’d just left. Havoc made a ‘kinda’ gesture with his hand and Prentiss once again sighed. “I’d honestly hoped there’d only be one or two more like Widdon and Combes,” she moaned as they started walking away. Havoc chuckled humourlessly.

 

“Just remember; these are the ones that _didn’t_ join the late Fuhrer or support his plans. That we know of, anyway,” Havoc told her and Prentiss’ eyes widened slightly at the thought.

 

“Thank god for that,” she muttered. “I couldn’t imagine dealing with people _worse_ than them,” she divulged to Havoc.

 

She may have grown up in and around politics and chosen a career where she had to deal with some of worst humanity had to offer but at least they were usually better at hiding their dark side under a better mask. All those Havoc and Prentiss had spoken today weren’t shy about how much they disliked Mustang and wanted him out of the military for no better reason than so they would only have to keep their under-the-table deals from Grumman. Prentiss almost wished they’d admitted that out loud but, unfortunately, they had been smart enough to simply say they hadn’t appreciated Mustang watching them closely, or some variation of that.

 

“Yeah, the chief hates working with them,” Havoc grinned amusedly as he reminisced on the few times he’d been privileged enough to witness Ed interact with a higher up who wasn’t Bradley, Grumman, Mustang or someone like Andrews, who he’d actually respected and liked.

 

“Why do you call Edward ‘chief’? Shouldn’t Mustang be the chief?” Prentiss asked, remembering that she’d been meaning to ask ever since she’d first heard the titles Havoc had for Ed and Mustang.

 

“Ah, you didn’t know the chief when he first joined our team. He made an artform out of following the bossman’s orders but doing so his way. Mustang might be the boss but Ed proved he was the chief,” Havoc told her and she laughed as she imagined a small 12-year-old Edward rebelling every which way he could without technically breaking the rules. 

* * *

 

JJ had watched Emily and Havoc leave shortly after Hotch, Rossi and Lieutenant Ross had left to get started with their day with a slight tinge of envy. She had nothing against staying inside an office all day but she would admit that she still wanted to be outside and exploring this country as much as she could. There were very few places on Earth she’d only be able to visit once and not have any kind of guarantee she’d never be able to go back to ever again. She knew that them being here in Amestris was a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, that if Mustang hadn’t found himself in this situation, they wouldn’t be here and it was as simple as that.

 

She glanced over at Edward and knew that once the BAU were sent home, it was almost a complete guarantee that they’d never see the blonde, his boss or anyone they met here ever again and felt her heart grow heavy with melancholy before she gave herself a mental shake to dispel those thoughts. She wouldn’t go borrow heartache from tomorrow if she could help it.

 

“Miss Jareau?” Fuery’s slightly nervous voice interrupted JJ’s thoughts and she gave the bespectacled man a warm smile.

 

“JJ, please. What can I do for you, Warrant Officer Fuery?” JJ asked, sitting up a little straighter.

 

“Oh, um, you can just call me Fuery, if you want,” Fuery offered. “I was just wondering if you needed any help with all of that?” Fuery asked, gesturing to the newspapers that littered the desk in front of her and half littered the desk next to it.

 

JJ had been a little surprised that there as many newspaper publishers as there were. The main newspaper was one the military owned but there were nearly a dozen smaller and independent newspapers that weren’t attached to the military. Alphonse had gone through them when they’d been delivered and gathered the newspapers they’d had multiple copies of so he could give them to Hotch’s group to pass along to Mustang but JJ had yet to do more than sort them, grouping the papers published by the same company into their own piles. Those piles were then sorted by date of publication so she could read the oldest first and make her way through to the most recent.

 

“Thank you, Fuery. I’d appreciate the help,” JJ smiled warmly at him, causing the younger man to relax slightly and move to sit next to her but she stopped him. “Do you have the time now or do you have your own work to finish up? I don’t want you to get in trouble for being behind with your actual work.” JJ told him and Fuery frowned in thought.

 

“I’ll double check but I think I’ve gotten everything important done by now,” Fuery said, suddenly not sure if he really had done all his usual paperwork.

 

“Excellent. While you’re doing that, I’ll start reading and figure out what sections pertain to the case and what doesn’t. that all I’ll be doing to start with, anyway. After that I’ll start actually reading the information,” JJ explained and Fuery nodded, happy to hear he wouldn’t be holding her back while he checked on his own work.

 

JJ saw the approving look Hawkeye had given her before the blonde captain turned back to her own work and Edward. Alphonse was sitting with Sheska and Breda for the moment but looked ready to help anyone who asked for it. A glance at the clock told JJ it was near 10:00am so she grabbed the first newspaper and got to work, grabbing the first newspaper on the pile closest to her and opening it. 

* * *

 

Half an hour later, JJ was distracted from her reading and note taking by Edward’s small exclamation of victory and Hawkeye’s praise. She hadn’t noticed that Alphonse had started approaching her – Fuery still head down in some paperwork he’d accidentally overlooked – until Ed had called out his brother’s name and asked if he was busy.

 

JJ had to hide a grin at the suspicion lacing Al’s voice when he’d asked why his brother wanted to know and Ed’s annoyed expression at Al’s tone. The younger Elric had asked JJ if she’d be fine, which she’d assured him she would be and spared a few moments to watch them get instructions from Hawkeye before they left the room, shutting the door behind them and racing down the hallway.

 

JJ noticed Hawkeye shaking her head at the door before the captain got stuck into her own paperwork, a determined expression on her face, obviously wanting to get everything in front of her done before the boys came back from getting cleaned up. JJ had gone back to her reading when the sound of a throat being cleared had her looking up and finding Fuery next to her once more, fidgeting a little nervously.

 

“Would you like me to help now? I’ve finished all of my paperwork now,” Fuery offered, shuffling a little where he stood. He was still a little uncomfortable around the BAU even though they were firmly on Mustang’s side, same as the team.

 

“That would be lovely, Fuery. I would really appreciate it. There are a lot more newspaper companies in Amestris than I thought there would be,” JJ said warmly as she cleared a spot for him to work next to her. He accepted the seat and pulled a spare notepad towards himself.

 

“So, what are we doing?” Fuery asked once he was situated.

 

“What we’re doing here is reading between the lines of what the papers are saying. Jot down all the times you notice the article leads the reader into assuming Mustang is definitely guilty. Any mention of there being irrefutable evidence tying the accused to the crimes or quotes from military members that seem more informed than they should be. Here,” JJ slid over her notepad and Fuery took it with a look of confusion on his face, “read through my notes so far to get a proper idea of what I’m looking for,” she told him, leaning back as he did so. There weren’t many notes as she’d only been reading the articles for half an hour so Fuery read through her notes quickly.

 

“I think I understand what you’re doing here. You’re trying to see if there’s any proof of the military influencing the newspapers to get public opinion on their side,” Fuery said once he’d read her notes through.

 

“Yes, mainly. The other thing I’m doing is seeing if there’s any mention of something the papers shouldn’t know about. I know Brookes is keeping the fact that Bryce was the first victim close to his chest as well as the fact that all the victims suffered a blow to the head and much of Armstrong’s testimony isn’t being made public. If the newspapers mention anything they shouldn’t know about, it could be further proof of someone in the military talking to the media or the journalist might have been in contact with the killer and not known it,” JJ explained and Fuery looked intrigued.

 

“I see. Where do you want me to start?” Fuery asked and JJ smiled as she handed over a small pile of papers from an independent newspaper that published two issues a week.

 

“You can start with these papers,” she said, smiling gratefully. Fuery returned the smile, a lot less nervous than it normally would’ve been before both got stuck into their work. 

* * *

 

The office door burst open at 11:30 on the dot and the five people who were still in the office looked up to be greeted with the slight of the slightly puffed Elric brothers. JJ and Fuery had still been reading and hadn’t heard their footsteps rapidly approach so they were more startled than the others. Hawkeye admonished them for nearly being late and JJ felt an icy chill grip her heart when Al told them there’d been a situation. The chilled grip had lessened when Ed explained what had happened and nearly disappeared entirely when the oldest Elric swore that everything was fine but JJ knew she wasn’t the only one now worried for everyone’s safety. Ed and Hawkeye soon left and JJ managed to say goodbye at the same time as the others, her slightly strangled voice covered by everyone else so no one heard her worry.

 

“Hi, Miss JJ. Can I help with anything?” Alphonse asked once he joined them at the table. With Hawkeye and Ed gone, only Alphonse, JJ, Breda, Fuery and Sheska remained. The office was a lot quieter than normal since near everyone was too focused on their work. Sheska and Breda had had the idea of creating a small notebook containing the facts from the files. Breda had suggested it, claiming that writing the information and theories down might help create more leads for them to follow.

 

“Hello, Alphonse. If you’d like to go over Fuery’s and my notes, I’d love to see if you can make any connections we missed once you’ve read the newspapers we have,” JJ said, giving Al a smile. “After we’re done here, we’re going to discuss any other media outlets Amestris has and try to figure out what information they’ve given out,” she told him, catching him up on their plans.

 

“Sure thing, Miss JJ,” Al said cheerily as he settled himself next to Fuery, offering the second youngest member of Mustang’s team a friendly smile as the man handed over his notebook. “Thanks, Fuery,” Al said as his eyes darted over the notes. Soon enough, silence once again reigned, only being broken by whispered conversations and the rustling of paper. 

* * *

 

JJ barely held back a snarl of annoyance when the office door opened barely an hour after Ed and Hawkeye had left for Mustang’s home. She didn’t mind interruptions – far too used to them back in her little office in Quantico – but that was because those who needed to give her a new file or ask her a question were usually polite enough to knock first. She looked at the door, a reprimand ready on her lips, only to grin as two of her team mates stumbled into the office, bickering at each other. It took a moment for her to figure out what it was they were actually arguing about.

 

“We could’ve been here ages ago if you hadn’t asked a million questions!” Morgan said to Reid, whose response was to roll his eyes.

 

“I didn’t ask a million questions. I asked,” Reid paused momentarily, “53 exactly. 78, if you include clarifying and general ones,” Reid informed him and Morgan looked both annoyed and amused.

 

“Don’t make me hit you in front of everyone,” Morgan growled at him and JJ chose then to interfere.

 

“No hitting, boys,” she said sternly, causing both her team mates to pause in their quarrelling while Falman took the opportunity to slip silently into the room, closing the door behind him softly, and sit at his desk.

 

“What are you guys arguing about?” Al asked curiously and Morgan shot Reid an annoyed look. JJ could see the dark-skinned man wasn’t actually annoyed at their youngest team member though.

 

“Morgan thinks I spent too long at the labs, talking to Doctor Nesbo about everything his labs can do. I may have offered a few suggestions on how they could elevate their labs and tests so they’re closer to what’s considered old news on Earth, like DNA and how it could be used,” Reid told him and Al sat up in excitement.

 

“What did Doctor Nesbo tell you? Brother and I met him once or twice before Promised Day but between Brother’s missions and my hospitalisation, we haven’t had the chance to actually catch up with anyone from the labs to see how they’re going,” Al explained as Reid moved to sit next to him.

 

“Oh my god, there’s two of them,” Morgan moaned as he slumped in the chair he’d sat in. JJ stifled her giggles but not quick enough, if Morgan’s glare was anything to go by. Al and Reid ignored him as Reid told Al everything he could. 

* * *

 

Reid had finally caught Al up and was now helping JJ, Al and Fuery with their task when the door opened once more, this time permitting everyone not in the office bar Hawkeye and Ed. Havoc and Prentiss had done the smart thing and stopped by the mess, picking up sandwiches for everyone, since they were apparently the only food item that could be trusted not to turn on the consumer, if Havoc were to be believed. The looks on Fuery and Breda’s faces told them the claim likely wasn’t exaggerated.

 

“Thank you,” JJ said as she accepted the sandwich handed to her. It was a simple ham and cheese one but she didn’t mind and it tasted pretty good. There were three sandwiches left over and JJ figured they’d been for Hawkeye and Ed, if for some reason they’d still been here. JJ also figured they’d likely not last for the intended people to eat them and was proven right when Al, Havoc and Breda had grabbed one more each. Hotch was nice enough to wait for all the sandwiches to be eaten before speaking up.

 

“What did you find out at the labs?” Hotch asked, eyes flicking between the three who’d been sent to the aforementioned labs.

 

“They’re backed up. They hadn’t even started any tests until the day we first met Grumman because they were still playing catch-up with cases. The doctor in charge of the labs and our case told us they were still months behind but were slowly getting up to speed. Grumman placed a call and asked them to prioritise any tests needed to be done for this case so we’d have the results before the trial, hopefully,” Morgan reported immediately.

 

“They were able to run ballistics on the weapons Summers, Henley and Andrews had on their person but none of them were able to fire it before they were killed. They’ve collected thousands of samples pertaining to fibres, hairs, fingerprints and blood but no one at the lab is hopeful anything will result from those tests. Their testing abilities are very limited. They can only tell apart human and animal hair and that’s considered a technological breakthrough still,” Reid told them and Hotch wasn’t the only one to look upset by the news. “When it comes to blood evidence, they can tell the victims had carbon monoxide in their blood, what blood type it is and how old the sample is but that’s it. Their hindered technology and the fact that the crime scenes were very accessible to the public and rarely cleaned is making the case far more difficult,” Reid said.

 

“What about any evidence of an accelerant?” Rossi asked, remembering that was something brought up yesterday by the team who visited some of the crime scenes.

 

“They started the tests yesterday and will call when they get the results in,” Morgan said neutrally and Hotch didn’t do a great job at supressing his annoyed sigh. “What about you lot?” Morgan asked, moving the talk along.

 

“We spoke with Mr. Lanco and Mustang about everything we’ve managed to uncover so far but nothing’s been jogged for Mustang. He can’t think of anyone who fits the slightly more detailed description of the suspect. Lanco has ordered him to try and come up with any names, even if he thinks they wouldn’t have any kind of motivation for wanting him out of the way,” Rossi told them, leaning back in his chair and relaxing slightly.

 

“We accompanied Mr. Lanco to his office so we could hear his defence plans for this case, should it go to trial,” Hotch informed them. “Unfortunately, it’s a very typical play, with the way the evidence is in this case. All Lanco can really do is point out the fact that all evidence the prosecution has gathered is circumstantial, that Armstrong doesn’t know her attackers identity and use the information we’ve given them to cast reasonable doubt.” Hotch paused for a moment. “Honestly, if this case went to trial back home, I wouldn’t be confident I could win the case as a prosecutor but I also wouldn’t be confident the defence could win it either,” Hotch confided and no one was really surprised by what he admitted.

 

“What about you, Prentiss? How’d you go?” Rossi asked and more than a few of those present smirked when Prentiss’ lips curled in distaste.

 

“I hate the politics here. I’d honestly prefer to deal with the politics back home all the time,” Emily growled. “All the generals Havoc and I spoke with today were almost completely transparent in how much easier their lives would be if they didn’t have someone like Mustang watching their every move. The only way they could’ve been completely transparent is if they’d actually admitted they were still doing illegal or immoral things under the table.” Prentiss groaned as she recalled the conversations she’d sat through. “We didn’t learn anything new there either. Lieutenant Havoc and I will be making calls to West City shortly to see whether we can learn anything from associates of Andrews there but I’m not holding my breath,” Prentiss told them with a sigh. By the time she’d finished speaking, everyone looked slightly sympathetic.

 

“Good luck with them,” Hotch said sincerely. “What time did Edward and Captain Hawkeye leave?” He asked.

 

“They left at 11:30 or so, Sir,” Alphonse told him politely. Unlike his elder brother, Alphonse didn’t mind using titles, no matter how often they gave him permission to just use their last names or nicknames.

 

“So, we shouldn’t expect them back for a few hours,” Hotch surmised before turning to JJ. “How’s everything on your end?” He asked her and JJ shrugged a shoulder.

 

“So far, there’s not much to get excited about. The papers we’ve read so far have only covered up until Colonel Summers and the possible connections between his death and Major Pardi’s. We might get more to go on once we’ve finished reading the papers and spoken about the other kinds of media outlets,” JJ told him and Hotch nodded.

 

“Alright. Prentiss and Havoc have more phone calls to make while Morgan and Lieutenant Falman will be visiting Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes in a couple of hours. The rest of us will stay here and help where we can while we wait for them to finish up and for Captain Hawkeye and Edward to finish at Mustang’s house,” Hotch told them and got nods in response.

 

“We might as well go and get started on those phone calls,” Prentiss said, completely unenthused, while Havoc stood from his desk.

 

“Have fun,” Morgan called, a teasing grin on his face before laughing when Prentiss’ only response was to flip him off as she left the room with Havoc in tow. JJ rolled her eyes at Morgan before turning back to her own task and tuning the rest of the office’s occupants out slightly. 

* * *

 

Prentiss allowed herself to be led by Havoc to an area that held several phones attached to the walls with thick, plastic partitions on either side of the phones to give the user some semblance of privacy while they spoke to whoever was on the other end of the line. Thanks to their activities the day before, Prentiss was more than accustomed to the way the military made phone calls. She took out the list of remaining names from her pocket and smoothed the paper out so both she and Havoc could see the names clearly before she turned to the lieutenant.

 

“How confident would you be in questioning some of these people over the phone?” She asked and watched as the blonde smoker seemed to jolt in surprise at her question.

 

“You want me to question them?” He asked, shocked. “Why?” Sounding more confused when Prentiss nodded in response.

 

“You’ve spent the majority of today and yesterday helping and observing me with this kind of thing. I’m confident you’ve picked up enough from those interviews to employ some of those skills to these calls. If you aren’t sure you would be able to get the same results as I would, I’ll call them all. I just figured you’d like the chance to do more than just stand there and watch me talk on the phone,” Prentiss explained and was a little amused to see the faint blush work its way into Havoc’s cheeks.

 

“Thanks for the vote of confidence but I think I’ll pass and leave it to you. If the reason for these calls wasn’t for something as important as helping the bossman out, I’d take you up on the offer,” he told her, apologetically and Prentiss nodded easily. She’d expected a similar response.

 

“If that’s what you want, that’s alright with me,” she told him as she picked up a phone and readied herself to place the call. “Hopefully these conversations are less,” she paused, mulling over which word to use, “vexing than the ones we’ve partaken in today,” Prentiss said wryly and the sceptical laugh Havoc couldn’t suppress pretty much summed up her own thoughts on the matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw guys, kudos and comments make my day so feel free to leave some on this story!


	14. Chapter 14

****Morgan and Falman were walking purposefully towards Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ office with ten minutes to go before their arranged meeting time. Falman had been the one to quietly alert Morgan to the time since the BAU agent was too busy trying not to laugh at Prentiss’ truly impressive scowl. She’d been sporting that particular expression for the entire time she and Havoc had returned back to the office after leaving to place the calls they’d needed to. No one was dumb enough to ask if they’d come up with anything, especially after Prentiss’ _creatively worded_ , if short, report to Hotch. Havoc and Prentiss would likely be questioned for more details at a later date – once Emily had been given the chance to calm down – just to be certain there weren’t any leads, no matter how thin, borne from those phone calls.

 

Falman and Morgan had left the office before Prentiss could find some way to hurt Morgan for his amusement at her annoyance without anyone knowing it was her a few minutes earlier than they’d planned, which just meant they were a little early to their meeting with Brookes. Falman had the honour of knocking on the man’s office door since he was the first of the duo to reach it. Upon entering the office, they were a little surprised at how empty the office was. Naturally, they hadn’t expected Sheska to be in there considering she was currently knee-deep in paper in Mustang’s office but they’d still expected to see more than the one person who was currently occupying it. The rustling of papers and muttered words coming from the small inner office told the two newcomers that someone – likely Brookes – was also there, just not in their sight.

 

“Can I help you?” The female officer, despite her face being the epitome of impassiveness, managed to convey exactly how little patience she had for time-wasters in that moment with her glare.

 

“We’ve been asked to meet with Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes at 3:00pm today for an interview,” Falman informed her and she narrowed her eyes at them before consulting a book.

 

“Lieutenant Falman and Mr. Derek Morgan?” She asked and they both nodded once when she looked up. Her whole demeanour immediately changed to one that was far less hostile and, if Morgan was correct, a little bit relieved. She seemed to notice his noticing. “I apologise if I seemed a little standoffish. Certain higher ups have taken it upon themselves – and by that, I mean they’ve been sending members of their teams or random soldiers they’ve cornered – to pay Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes a visit to see what progress he’s made in way of uncovering irrefutable evidence in regard to this case,” she told them with a slight sigh before remembering her manners and sticking a hand out for them to shake. “I apologise for my behaviour. I’m 1st Lieutenant Kylie Clarke,” she introduced herself as the two men took turns shaking her hand.

 

“Pleasure to meet you,” Morgan said, giving the red head a flirty grin that had her blush faintly and scowl slightly at her own reaction. Falman didn’t give Morgan the exact disapproving look Hotch normally would’ve but it was a very good imitation.

 

“Please wait here a moment,” Clarke requested before disappearing into the inner office. The conversation between Brookes and his lieutenant wasn’t quiet but it wasn’t loud enough for Morgan or Falman to eavesdrop, even if it had been an interesting enough conversation for them to bother listening in on. Clarke came back a minute later. “You’re welcome to wait in Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ office until the everyone this meeting involves is present,” she told them.

 

“Thank you, Lieutenant Clarke,” Falman said with a slight bow before heading into the inner office, practically shoving Morgan ahead of him so the BAU agent wouldn’t get the opportunity to flirt. He still managed to give Clarke a wink as he was encouraged into the office. 

* * *

 

Brookes was sitting at his desk, looking very annoyed at whatever was written on the papers in front of him, and only acknowledged Morgan and Falman were in the room when the two men were actually in front of Brookes’ desk. From the way the man jumped when he caught sight of them in his peripheral, he hadn’t even _noticed_ them enter.

 

“You’re early,” he commented, eyes flicking over to his wall clock to actually confirm they were.

 

“Yes, we decided to head over here a littler earlier than anticipated to avoid bloodshed between Agents Morgan and Prentiss,” Falman informed the colonel, who frowned in confusion at Morgan.

 

“Why would Agent Prentiss want to harm you? Did something happen?” He asked and Morgan waved his hand in a ‘kind of’ gesture.

 

“Agent Prentiss has spent the better part of yesterday and the majority of today speaking with co-workers of the victims. Today was spent interviewing those who interacted with Andrews the most. She didn’t gather any useful information and has expressed her thoughts on the Amestrian higher ups, using some rather colourful and inventive language.” Morgan told him, eyes glinting in amusement.

 

“I’m guessing she didn’t appreciate how humourous you found the situation?” Brookes drawled and Falman nodded.

 

“You would be correct, Sir,” he told Brookes.

 

“Alright, take a seat while we wait for the soldiers assigned to General Armstrong’s scene,” Brookes gestured to the two leather chairs in front of his desk. “Have your teams learned anything new since we last spoke?” He asked once Morgan and Falman were seated.

 

“No.” Morgan said before correcting himself. “Well, we did learn why your requested tests have taken so long and Reid learned a lot about the crime lab in Central but other than that, we’ve learned nothing new or helpful,” he said and Brookes looked both disappointed and unsurprised.

 

“I thought your answer would be something like that,” he sighed before glancing at his paperwork. “If you don’t mind, I need to get this completed before the meeting so I can have Lieutenant Clarke give it to General Widdon.” Brookes shot the paperwork an irritated look that piqued Morgan and Falman’s interest.

 

“May I ask what it pertains to?” Falman asked and Brookes gave another sigh – annoyed rather than resigned this time – as he leaned back in his chair.

 

“I have a feeling that Generals Widdon and Combes are feeling the pressure from your investigations. In fact,” Brookes looked at up at them, “a member of my team was temporarily assigned to Widdon for the execution of the search warrant on Mustang’s home. He returned only a few minutes ago to give his report before I sent him to grab something for lunch,” he divulged to them. Both Falman and Morgan couldn’t stop themselves from sitting a little straighter in interest. “He said the search was a bust. They found absolutely no evidence that could used to connect Mustang to the crimes, not even if you tried to stretch the facts as best you could. Lieutenant Owen informed me that Lieutenant-Colonel Elric was particularly brazen towards the generals, further irritating their bad mood.”

 

“What does this have to do with your paperwork?” Morgan asked, not quite able to stop himself from cutting Brookes off. To his credit, Brookes didn’t seem to mind.

 

“I believe the generals are going to try to call a meeting of the higher ups, Fuhrer Grumman included, to push for Mustang’s trial to be started immediately, rather than honour the deal they originally had and allow you the promised week. If I’m right, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric – as Mustang’s temporary stand-in – will be forced to attend and they will try to use his inexperience and stubbornness against him. At the very least, they will succeed in wasting a few hours of his and Captain Hawkeye’s time, since she will undoubtedly accompany him. At worst? Grumman might be forced to grant them an immediate trial,” Brookes told them and was taken aback by the flashes of anger in both men’s eyes at the news.

 

“Ed will not be happy, if your suspicions are correct,” Falman ground out, already envisioning the ways Ed would take the news. None of them boded well for the office furniture.

 

“I think Ed might surprise you, if this meeting is called and he has to attend,” Morgan said, shrugging when both Amestrians quirked a questioning brow. “I know he’s not the type to think before he speaks but I also think he’d be able to recognise the meeting for what it is; a bullying tactic and will be able to respond in a way that stops the generals in their tracks and help Grumman withstand the pressure,” Morgan confided and Falman looked thoughtful.

 

“I hope for your sakes that you’re correct,” Brookes said sincerely. Lieutenant Clarke chose that moment to knock lightly on the door frame, drawing Brookes’ attention to herself. “Yes, lieutenant?”

 

“Sorry to interrupt, Colonel,” she saluted smartly. “Lieutenant Marshall and Sergeant Duiker are here to see you, Sir,” she informed Brookes once he’d released her from the salute.

 

“Excellent. Send them in, please,” he requested. The red head nodded sharply before turning on her heel and disappearing from their sight only to quickly return with two men in tow. She gestured for them to enter before closing the door behind them, ensuring privacy.

 

The two men weren’t very old, maybe in between Fuery and Havoc’s ages, but both looked nervous about being in the office. Morgan studied them for a few moments and determined the nerves were from the uncertainty of the situation and not because they were hiding something.

 

“Good afternoon, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir,” the slightly older looking soldier said as the two of them saluted the colonel. Brookes dismissed their salutes, allowing them to relax in a parade stance as he stepped out from behind his desk and stood in front of the two soldiers.

 

“I don’t believe we’ve ever met before,” Brookes said pointedly, offering his hand for them to shake.

 

“Lieutenant Timothy Marshall, Sir,” the one who’d spoken before said as he grasped Brookes’ hand.

 

“Sergeant Earl Duiker, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes.” The younger of the two was quick to shake Brookes’ hand, looking at the two other people in the room once he’d let go.

 

“2nd Lieutenant Vato Falman.” The two new arrivals offered Falman a salute as well but the man dismissed it almost as quickly as Brookes had.

 

“Derek Morgan. Consultant for the defense,” Morgan introduced himself, offering his hand to shake before Marshall and Duiker could think of saluting.

 

“Pleasure to meet you both,” Duiker said with a hesitant smile before he looked at Brookes. “Sir, if you don’t mind us asking; why did you arrange for us to meet with you? All our commanding officer told us was that it pertained to us guarding a recent crime scene.” Marshall looked as confused and curious as well.

 

“The specialised team of consultants have developed a theory based on evidence they’ve extrapolated from recent visits to the last three crime scenes. Mr. Morgan would like the opportunity to ask the two of you some questions in relation to Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s crime scene and anything that might have happened while you two were guarding it,” Brookes told them as he sat back at his desk, looking a little mournfully at his unfinished paperwork.

 

“We’ll help in any way we can, Sir,” Marshall promised, resulting in a small smile from the colonel.

 

“Excellent. While the four of you talk, I’ll continue with my own work,” Brookes said, glancing meaningfully at his paperwork. Morgan didn’t doubt for a moment that the man would be able to finish the work on his desk and be able to listen to his interview with no problems but Morgan put that out of his mind as he faced the two soldiers.

 

“First thing I’d like to ask is when did you first arrive at the crime scene in question?” Morgan asked as he pulled out his notepad and got settled in the chair he’d claimed.

 

“We were amongst the first responders, Sir. Sergeant Duiker and I arrived on scene at the same time as the ambulance,” Marshall told him immediately.

 

“Walk me through what happened after you arrived,” Morgan instructed and he could see the two men were thrown slightly by the fact he hadn’t asked a question.

 

“We were part of the group who were tasked with keeping the growing crowd from getting too close to the crime scene while the ambulance officers assessed Lieutenant-General Armstrong and prepared her for transport to the hospital,” Duiker was the one to talk first this time.

 

“Once she was in the ambulance, we were asked by Captain Bamford, who’d arrived on scene soon after us, to disperse the crowd, which we did. The captain went to use the closest phone to contact General Widdon and tell him what had happened since I think everyone at that time believed the attack to be connected to the murders,” Marshall explained when Duiker had paused to breathe.

 

“Captain Bamford came back to tell us that Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes was still busy with the earlier crime scene but would be informed immediately about the new scene so his team could work on the freshest scene,” Duiker picked the story back up. “We were asked by Captain Bamford to guard the entrance to the alleyway and keep an eye in it for anyone suspicious until Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes and his team could arrive.” This time, Morgan interrupted before Marshall could try and keep going.

 

“Did you notice anything? Anything that drew your attention away from the alley for a minute or more?” He asked and immediately knew Al and Ed’s theory would be proven when both men hesitated to answer him.

 

“You won’t be punished for investigating something suspicious,” Brookes assured the men, proving Morgan’s theory on the man’s ability to multitask correct. Both Marshall and Duiker relaxed a little.

 

“We thought we heard a noise coming from the alley two buildings down. We’d dismissed it originally as a stray animal, maybe a cat knocking over a thrown-out tin or something, but we heard the noise again and saw a shadow in alley’s mouth,” Marshall told them. “When the shadow moved, we both thought it was too big to be a dog or cat so I went to investigate while Sergeant Duiker stayed in position,” Marshall admitted.

 

“I didn’t pay the crime scene any attention while Lieutenant Marshall was in the other alley. I was worried the murderer was still nearby since they’d been scared off before they could kill General Armstrong and clean up after themselves.” Duiker’s eyes stayed glued to the ground in shame, like he thought he would be lectured – or worse – for being more concerned for his partner’s safety than the crime scene. “He was gone for nearly two minutes before he came back out of the alley. I looked behind me to check the alley we were guarding but nothing looked different or disturbed and I hadn’t heard anything to tell me that someone might’ve been in there.” Duiker’s words turned slightly defensive towards the end.

 

“Why didn’t you tell anyone about you leaving your post, Lieutenant Marshall?” Morgan asked, ignoring Duiker for the moment.

 

“We didn’t think it was important. I didn’t find anything in the alley or see anyone leave it. I came to the conclusion it had just been a large dog or cat after all and returned to my post. Like Sergeant Duiker said, I was only gone for two minutes at most and nothing in the crime scene looked different and neither of us heard anything from that alley,” Marshall told them, standing completely straight-backed, ready to take whatever punishment he thought they’d give him.

 

“You didn’t see any bright flashes of light or hear anyone moving in the alley while Lieutenant Marshall was gone?” Morgan pressed Duiker slightly.

 

“No, Sir. I swear,” Duiker told him earnestly.  

 

“I believe you,” Morgan assured the two men, who relaxed slightly at his honest words. “I just want to clarify a couple more things, if I may?” Marshall and Duiker nodded their assent. “What times did you arrive on scene, get asked to guard the alley and when did you leave the scene for good?” Morgan asked. Both Marshall and Duiker’s faces bore signs of intense concentration as they sorted through their memories for the answers to Morgan’s question.

 

“I believe we appeared on the scene no later than 8:15pm and no earlier than 8:00pm. I don’t know the exact time. Sergeant?” Marshall admitted, looking at his partner to see if he knew but the younger man shook his head.

 

“I don’t know but I think you’re right in your estimate, lieutenant,” Duiker said. “I know it was just on 9:00pm when we were instructed to guard the alleyway because the church bell had only rung a couple of minutes earlier.” Morgan jotted down the times in his notepad. “I think we guarded the alley-way for fifteen, maybe twenty minutes?” Duiker looked at Marshall for confirmation.

 

“That sounds about right. Once Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ team showed up, we were asked for a report. That took maybe ten minutes so there was maybe half an hour between us being ordered to guard the alleyway and being dismissed,” Marshall told them.

 

“My team reported they’d arrived at the crime scene at 9:25pm. By the time I arrived, which was at 10:20pm once I left the hospital with the generals, my team were the only one’s present,” Brookes inserted himself into the conversation and Morgan was startled to realise that he had forgotten the man was even there.

 

“We left within ten minutes of your team arriving, Sir,” Duiker told him and Morgan noted that as well.

 

“Did either of you enter the alley-way at all once you were on scene?” Morgan asked but both men shook their heads. “Not even to help General Armstrong?” He pressed and both men shook their heads again.

 

“No. Like Sergeant Duiker said, once we arrived, our job was crowd-control. We didn’t step foot in the alley-way at all,” Marshall told him.

 

“So, you didn’t notice if there was a partition a little further in the alley than where they found General Armstrong? A small wall about two metres tall and roughly half a metre long, built from the same material as the alley wall?” Morgan asked. The perplexed looks on the two soldiers’ faces told him what their answer was going to be.

 

“No? I didn’t, at least,” Marshall said, sounding suddenly unsure about whether he had or not.

 

“I didn’t notice one,” Duiker corroborated quickly. Marshall looked a little relieved that his partner hadn’t seen something he’d missed. Morgan wrote that down and closed his notepad before placing it in his jacket pocket.

 

“Thank you very much for your time but I think that’s everything I need to know. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes, do you have any questions for them?” Morgan glanced over at the seated man, who looked a little surprised at being asked but was quick to cover it up.

 

“No, I don’t. The two of you may return to your normal routine. We appreciate you coming in to talk with us,” Brookes dismissed them, voice grateful.

 

“We’re happy to assist the investigation in anyway we can. Let us know if you need to ask us any more questions, Sirs,” Marshall offered, both he and Duiker saluting as he did so.

 

“Thank you,” Brookes smiled before waving at them dismissively. The two men nodded to Falman and Morgan before taking their leave, closing the door behind them as they left the room.

 

“I know we expected them to not have noticed anything in the alley-way,” Brookes started saying, “but I had hoped we’d be wrong and they’d tell us they had noticed someone but didn’t think it was important because they thought Mustang was guilty.” Brookes admitted, a little ashamed but Morgan understood what he meant.

 

A glance at Brookes’ wall clock told him that they’d only been here for just over half an hour and Morgan sighed a little. So far, from what he’d heard from the rest of his team and what little Brookes had passed on from his subordinate who’d joined Widdon and Combes, this whole day had given them nothing to show for their work and Morgan wasn’t ashamed to admit that that frustrated him a little. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of help Garcia would’ve been able to offer if she’d joined them and this world was as technologically advanced to their world’s level. Knowing how determined his tech princess was when a member of her family was threatened, it’s highly likely the real killer would already be behind bars. Unfortunately, she wasn’t here so they would have to do this this old-fashioned way.

 

“Thanks for letting us use your office, Brookes,” Morgan said, standing from his seat and stretching lightly. Falman – who hadn’t reclaimed his seat when Marshall and Duiker had arrived – stood a little straighter, ready to leave when Morgan did.

 

“No worries, Agent Morgan. I imagine I’ll hear from a member of your teams tomorrow afternoon?” Brookes asked and Morgan nodded.

 

“Yeah. Hopefully, we’ll have something new that will help us more with our goal tomorrow,” Morgan said, tone indicating he didn’t believe his own words.

 

“Hopefully,” Brookes echoed as he gathered his now finished paperwork. “Come on, I’ll walk you out,” he said, jutting his chin towards the door. Falman was nice enough to open the door so Brookes didn’t have to try and balance the papers to do so.

 

Falman and Morgan found themselves in the outer office once more with Lieutenant Clarke and two new faces. Morgan entertained the idea of introducing himself to the unfamiliar soldiers but took one look at their workload and determined expressions and decided to leave the introductions until they weren’t as busy. Brookes handed his armful of paperwork over to Clarke and asked her to get it to the appropriate person as soon as she could. The red head nodded as she accepted the paperwork and Brookes turned to face Morgan and Falman.

 

“I’ll keep in contact with your teams if something happens before the report tomorrow afternoon,” Brookes swore.

 

“We’d appreciate it. Thank you, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes,” Falman said with a salute that Brookes dismissed immediately.

 

“You’re welcome. Have a good night, fellas,” Brookes said, giving them a grin that Morgan returned.

 

“You as well,” Morgan said. Falman dipped his head slightly before the two men left the office, Morgan making sure he gave Clarke a wink and a wave that had the red-headed lieutenant flush slightly before she busied herself with her work. The flat glare Morgan got from Falman when they were in the hallway was worth it. 

* * *

It hadn’t taken long for Drayton to get Hawkeye and Ed to the captain’s apartment building. Despite having been there before, Ed still felt vaguely nervous entering her apartment, like it was some kind of sacred place that he shouldn’t be in. Hawkeye didn’t appear to notice his hesitation to strep over the threshold once she’d opened the door and let them both in. Any nerves Ed had were quickly gone when a familiar black and white dog yipped in excitement from somewhere in the apartment. The sound of nails scrabbling on the hard-wood floors preceded the small dog’s appearance but soon enough, he appeared and beelined straight for his owner, who crouched down with a rare smile on her face.

 

“Hey, there, Hayate. Have you behaved yourself?” Hawkeye asked as she ruffled the dog’s ears. Hayate yipped in answer before realising there was a second human in the apartment and squirmed out of Hawkeye’s arms so he could rush over to greet Ed. “No jumping, Hayate,” Hawkeye warned just as Hayate went to do just that. Ed was impressed considering she currently had her back to them but he was even more impressed when all Hayate did was let out a small, disappointed whine before sitting nicely in front of Ed.

 

“Hey, Hayate. Long time, no see,” Ed greeted the friendly dog, kneeling so he could give him a pat with his left hand, removing the glove so he could feel the dog’s soft fur. Hayate yipped in agreement before barking in excitement when Hawkeye turned around with his leash.

 

“Let’s not keep Warrant Officer Drayton waiting any longer. Come on, Hayate. You’re coming to the office with us,” Hawkeye said, clipping the leash onto Hayate’s collar. Hayate very determinedly led Ed and Hawkeye out of the apartment, barely allowing Hawkeye the time to lock the door behind her before he started straining against his leash.

 

Drayton spotted Hayate almost as soon as they left the building complex and was obviously restraining her excitement at seeing the dog, much to Ed’s visible and Hawkeye’s hidden amusement. The two were soon introduced – an introduction that took a little longer than it should’ve, thanks to Drayton’s questions about Hayate to Hawkeye – and the group were soon back on the road to Central Command, with Hayate seated calmly in Hawkeye’s lap and watching eagerly out the window.

 

By the time they arrived back at the office – having bade Warrant Officer Drayton goodbye at the car park – it was nearing 4:00pm. Black Hayate was enjoying himself, taking in all the scents and sights of Central Command, yipping at everyone who paused to say hello to him before hurrying on with their afternoon. Hawkeye and Ed walked in companionable silence, only detouring to the mess hall when Ed’s stomach reminded him very loudly that he’d missed lunch. Ed munched on his sandwiches as they walked, stooping quickly to give Hayate a little bit every time he thought Hawkeye wasn’t looking his way.

 

He’d finished his sandwiches by the time they’d arrived at Mustang’s office, disposing of the rubbish along the way. Ed hadn’t realised until he stepped foot in the office that he hadn’t expected everyone to actually be present so when he saw that everyone was, he jumped a little. His reaction, thankfully, went unnoticed even if their entrance didn’t.

 

“I see you two survived. Did everyone else?” Ed couldn’t tell if Hotch was joking or not when he asked.

 

“Of course they did,” Ed scoffed. “There were too many witnesses around for me to do anything, anyway,” he smirked, causing Al to sigh long-sufferingly while several of the others chuckled as Ed sat down next to his brother.

 

“Who do you have there, Captain Hawkeye?” JJ asked, bringing attention back to the other blonde who had walked into the room.

 

“This is Black Hayate,” Hawkeye said as she shut the door and unclipped Hayate’s leash so he could roam around the room. “Don’t worry. He’s friendly unless given an order,” Hawkeye told them as they hesitated to greet the small dog. Absolutely no one in the BAU knew if she was joking or not and everyone who was a part of Mustang’s team managed to keep their amused grins off their faces when the BAU – minus Hotch and Rossi – looked to them for confirmation.

 

Black Hayate was obviously loving all the attention he got once the BAU got over their hesitancy and let him meet them properly. He seemed particularly enamoured by JJ and Rossi for no particular reason, just going back to those two more often than not. Sheska and Maria had met Hayate on previous occasions so he wasn’t as interested in them as he was the six newcomers but he still made sure to greet them. When Falman and Breda were sent to go grab something for dinner, Hayate made to follow but a sharp order from Hawkeye had him staying exactly where he was.

 

“He’s very well trained,” Reid commented once the two men had left the office on their mission.

 

“He’s a very quick learner,” Hawkeye told them. No one on Mustang’s team decided to comment on Hawkeye’s training methods, lest they find themselves on the business end of her gun. Ever since Mustang was arrested, Hawkeye hadn’t had the opportunity to threaten anyone into working.

 

Everyone kept themselves entertained until Falman and Breda returned an hour later with enough food to feed a small army. After that, their attention was firmly on the food. Ed was happily proving he was the insatiable pit he was, despite having eaten barely two hours ago. Hayate was loving the new people by the end of dinner since they were the ones more likely to share their dinner with him than the Amestrian team since they were less likely to be shot for doing so.

 

“Now that we’ve all eaten,” Hotch said the moment the food had been devoured, “I’m sure Edward and Captain Hawkeye would like to be brought up to speed and I know I’d like to hear about the search of Mustang’s house,” he said, quirking a brow at Hawkeye and Ed. Hawkeye nodded in agreement.

 

Morgan and Reid went first with their report on what happened in the lab which eventually devolved into bickering and snide remarks interspersed between actual facts. Hotch didn’t reprimand them for it mainly because it was amusing everyone and wasn’t doing anyone any harm. They wrapped up their report when Al made a comment to Ed about how he’d like to go check on the labs when this was all over and find out whether Reid’s suggestions had helped the Amestrian lab techs make any improvements. Morgan had gone to make a comment when there was a knock at the door.

 

“Enter,” Ed called, frowning at the door. Everyone was here and no one had mentioned anything about someone paying a visit. Black Hayate was watching the door intently and let out a warning bark to the soldier who opened the door. The soldier looked a little nervous and Ed wasn’t sure if it was because of the dog, because he had bad news, because of who he was sent to talk to or any combination thereof. “Can we help you?” Ed asked with a bit of bite when a few moments had passed and the soldier had made no move to speak.

 

“Sorry, Sir. Sergeant Brody Wallen.” The man saluted a little shakily as he took in the room’s occupants nervously. “I’ve been asked to pass along a message to Lieutenant-Colonel Elric or Captain Hawkeye,” Wallen said, Adam’s apple bobbing as he forcibly swallowed.

 

“We’re both here. What’s the message?” Ed asked curiously.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman has been asked by Generals Widdon and Combes to call a meeting of the higher-ups immediately available in Central, Sir, for a meeting tomorrow. The agreed upon time is 10:00am, if that is suitable for the two of you?” Wallen asked. Ed frowned before leaning into Hawkeye to whisper to her.

 

“Why am I being asked to go? I’m not a general,” he asked and Hawkeye turned her head slightly so she could whisper back but keep Wallen in her sights.

 

“You’re a stand-in for Brigadier-General Mustang, Ed. That means that if there’s a meeting requiring all of the generals in Central, you are asked to attend in his place,” she explained to him and Ed let out a small moan of annoyance as the two of them separated.

 

“What’s the meeting for?” Ed asked instead of giving the sergeant an answer.

 

“I don’t know the details, Sir, but I think it might have something to do with former Brigadier-General Mustang’s trial,” Wallen told him, nerves evident in his voice. Ed shared a glance with Hotch and Hawkeye, neither of whom looked like they thought this meeting would be anything good, before looking back at Wallen.

 

“Very well. Please, tell Fuhrer Grumman that both Captain Hawkeye and I will be in attendance. I assume the meeting will be held in the conference room attached to his office?” Ed asked and Wallen nodded, a little too enthusiastically.

 

“Yes, Sir,” Wallen said. “I’m sorry for interrupting your night, Sir,” Wallen said with a salute.

 

“Don’t worry about it. Have a good night, sergeant,” Ed said and Wallen took it for the dismissal it was.

 

“Thank you, Sir. You too,” the man said before disappearing back through the door he’d entered in, a little quicker than Ed thought was necessary.

 

“I’ll bet money that meeting is Widdon and Combes trying to get Fuhrer Grumman to send the bossman to trial sooner than agreed,” Havoc grouched, slumping petulantly in his seat. Ed groaned as he realised Havoc was probably right. The higher ups – with the exception of Grumman and maybe two or three generals – would try and do something like that.

 

“They’ll probably argue that the three or so days we’ve been investigating should have been more than enough time to uncover the real killer or any compelling evidence pointing to a frame-job,” Ed sighed in annoyance.

 

“Why, though? Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes had nearly two months to investigate his case. Why would they not let us have the week Fuhrer Grumman promised?” Al asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

 

“Because, Alphonse, despite our inability to uncover the identity of the real criminal, we have uncovered enough suggestive evidence to give the defense a real chance at sowing the seeds of reasonable doubt and that’s with only three days of investigating,” Hawkeye was the one to explain the generals play. “The generals know that we’ll likely uncover some more small but significant pieces of this puzzle during the rest of the week given us and they’re worried that might be enough to save Brigadier-General Mustang from the firing squad. Their only hope is that Fuhrer Grumman will fold to their will and we’ll be too distracted by the trial to investigate properly,” she told him and Al gave the table a truly impressive scowl as he listened to her speak.

 

“Would they really try and rob us of the four days we still have left? Wouldn’t it just be easier for them to wait for those four days?” Al asked but Hawkeye shook her head.

 

“A lot can happen in four days. Just look at Promised Day, for example. Father spent hundreds of years planning on how to consume Amestris and her people to gain ultimate power. It took you, Ed, Brigadier-General Mustang and all other key players only two months to come up with a plan to stop him,” Hawkeye reminded him. “Most of the generals have likely been trying to figure out subtle ways to rid the military of the brigadier-general without it leading back to them for months, if not years, and now they have the perfect opportunity to do so. They would also have been given reports by Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes on what we’ve uncovered and they know that if given more time, we might actually be able to uncover evidence to have the case dismissed. They’ll be trying to do what they can to deprive us of as much time as possible to help Brigadier-General Mustang so they can be rid of him completely,” Hawkeye told Al gently. Ed felt his familiar hate for the corrupt military make itself known as he listened to Hawkeye.

 

“We’ll find out for sure what they want tomorrow,” Ed told them before Al could say anything else. Ed didn’t expect the slightly stunned silence he received. “What?” He asked, a little defensively.

 

“Nothing, chief. Just,” Havoc had his hands up in a placating gesture, “we didn’t think you’d really be going to the meeting,” he told him.

 

“Of course I am. I told Wallen to tell Grumman I would be and I respect Grumman enough to keep my word to him,” Ed told him but Havoc shared a knowing glance with the rest of the team.

 

“You just want to go so you be your usual self in front of them all and tell them they’re greedy idiots,” Havoc accused teasingly.

 

“Hey, I never said that wasn’t part of the reason I was going,” Ed grinned back, causing some of those in the office to laugh at him.

 

“You’re gonna get yourself stabbed by a general one of these days, Brother,” Al sighed resignedly. Ed lightly punched his shoulder.

 

“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been stabbed and it would give me an excuse to kick their arses,” Ed joked, causing Al to roll his eyes at him.

 

“Please don’t attack a room full of higher-ups, Brother,” Al asked though his tone suggested he thought it was a lost cause.

 

“I would never.” Ed did a good job sounding aghast. “Unless they attacked me first,” he added when Al gave him a disbelieving look.

 

“I’ll be there with him, Alphonse,” Hawkeye assured the younger Elric, whose look of relief was far more pronounced than the one he’d given Hawkeye when she’d assured him before she and Ed had left for Mustang’s house. Ed didn’t get the chance to respond in any way to that exchange because Hotch interrupted him.

 

“Would you like one of us to go with the two of you, just in case they ask about our methods?” He asked. Ed and Hawkeye seemed to have a short, silent conversation before Ed shrugged nonchalantly.

 

“You may accompany us but you will undoubtedly be asked to wait outside the room if you’re not needed inside. The generals will argue that you’re a stranger to this country and as well as a civilian and there’s the chance that state secrets might come up in the meeting,” Hawkeye warned him but Hotch didn’t look like he minded.

 

“That’s fine with me,” he assured her.

 

“Then we’d be glad to have you accompany us, Agent Hotchner,” Hawkeye said, allowing a little gratefulness to shine in her voice.

 

“What are the rest of you going to do while we go and listen to all those dickheads try and bully Grumman into doing what they want?” Ed asked, ignoring Al’s sigh from next to him.

 

“Well, I’ve uncovered some interesting things from the newspapers today. Alphonse and Warrant Officer Fuery were a lot of help today and what they found matched up with some of what I found,” JJ told them all. Ed leaned forward a little in interest and he noted he wasn’t the only one. “Central’s main newspaper, The Amestrian Times, has done an excellent job at wording their articles so they aren’t accusing Mustang of being guilty directly but so their words wouldn’t leave their readers any other conclusion to draw. This way they can’t be accused of slander or anything of the like,” JJ said. “However, interestingly enough, there are quite a few of the smaller newspapers who believe that Mustang is being framed or, at the very least, are simply printing the facts as they are.”

 

“You want to go and talk to the editors or journalists tomorrow, don’t you?” Morgan asked knowingly.

 

“Them and the radio hosts that report on the news to see if they keep transcripts of their shows,” JJ said, completely unabashed with how predictable she’d been.

 

“I believe Warrant Officer Fuery and Lieutenant Falman would be able to show you where you can find them,” Hawkeye told her. Both Fuery and Falman didn’t protest being suggested. In fact, Fuery looked excited about his task and Ed realised that the poor man really hadn’t had the opportunity to leave the office, with the exception of going home for the night or fetching food.

 

“Prentiss can go with you, if you’re willing?” Hotch asked and Emily nodded immediately. She wasn’t sure what more she could be doing the next day but it likely would’ve involved more interviews and Prentiss wasn’t sure she could handle another entire day of interviews like the ones she’d performed today. A break like this, where she wouldn’t be the lead interviewer, would be welcome.

 

“So, that’s Miss JJ, Miss Emily, Fuery and Falman’s day sorted. Miss Riza, Hotch and I are gonna go to that dumbass meeting and that’ll probably take forever,” Ed moaned before looking back up at everyone, “so what are the rest of you gonna do?” He asked once more.

 

“I was hoping to pay the coroner a visit and discuss his findings on the victims. See if there was anything he didn’t think needed to go in his report.” Rossi told them.

 

“Reid and Morgan can go with you,” Hotch said.

 

“As can Lieutenants Havoc and Ross,” Hawkeye said with a look to the two lieutenants.

 

“Wait, was it the same coroner for each victim?” Morgan asked and Reid immediately nodded.

 

“Yes. Doctor Johnathon Cole was the coroner who performed all five autopsies,” Reid told them. No one questioned whether he was right.

 

“Do we really need five people to interview one man?” Morgan asked, raising a brow slightly.

 

“That does seem a little excessive to me,” Sheska piped up, nearly too quiet for everyone to hear.

 

“I might have a solution?” Al said, tone making it more of a question than a statement. “I was going to ask once Ed had a couple of hours free to go with me since he’s the only one I’ve seen Doctor Knox treat more civilly than everyone else.” Ed seemed confused by the claim Al made but he also seemed to know where Al was going with this. “I noticed that Dr Knox is the coroner who performed a good percentage of the autopsies on the people Brigadier-General Mustang had to use flame alchemy against in a fatal manner. I wanted to ask him whether he’d seen the autopsy reports written by Dr Cole and what his thoughts were on them,” Al explained before waiting to see their reactions.

 

“It’s a good idea,” Ed, unsurprisingly, was the first to speak. “If Knox is familiar with what a victim of verified flame alchemy looks like, he might be able to help Mustang’s lawyer, assuming he can find differences between these victims and the others,” Hotch and the rest of the BAU were nodding in agreement.

 

“It certainly couldn’t hurt. If the generals get their way tomorrow, we might need to focus on making sure Lanco has enough of a case to help extend the trial so we can keep investigating,” Hotch told them. “Morgan, I want you, Rossi and Lieutenant Havoc to interview Dr Cole. Reid, you and Lieutenant Ross will accompany Al to Dr Knox’s office and see if he can help,” Hotch ordered them and received nods of agreement all around.

 

“Everyone else will stay here and continue to work on paperwork or dealing with any leads that might come to the office,” Hawkeye said, getting nods from Sheska and Breda, who were the only two who hadn’t been assigned to help anyone. “I would suggest those that are visiting the morgue tomorrow should do so on the doctors’ lunch breaks or call early tomorrow morning to schedule a meeting,” Hawkeye suggested.

 

“Of course, Captain Hawkeye,” Hotch agreed easily.

 

Ed listened to them discuss a few more details, mainly the BAU getting the Amestrian team’s opinion on the two coroners, for a little while before removing his trademark red coat. He’d interjected with a couple of remarks about Knox’s attitude towards people during the talk but his attention was suddenly grasped by the feel of something in his black coat’s inner pocket. He frowned as he undid the zipper, trying to figure out what he’d put in there, remembering as his gloved fingers gripped the edge of his tablet.

 

“What do you have there, Ed?” Reid asked, causing the blonde to look up as he extracted his tablet and be met with almost all eyes on him. Reid caught a glance of the device and immediately looked puzzled. “Is that a tablet?” He asked, garnering surprised gasps from the BAU and a confused look from Sheska, who didn’t know anything about his inter-dimensional trips, thus didn’t know what a tablet was.

 

“Uh, yes. Kinda. Not like the ones you have back in your country though,” Ed told them, unconsciously gripping his tablet a little closer to himself. “This one was specially made for me by a friend I met on my last trip,” Ed told them. Sheska still looked immensely confused and the BAU weren’t looking much better.

 

“Brother, I think you might need to tell Miss Sheska about how you met them and both her and Miss Maria the people you got the tablet from. That way, you won’t have to try and code everything you say,” Al whispered to him. “It’s honestly a miracle we haven’t slipped up in front of either of them yet and we can trust her not to say anything to anyone,” Al added and Ed nodded in agreement. Al was right and Ed had been feeling a little guilty over not being able to talk freely in front of Sheska because she didn’t know all the details about the BAU and how they met each other.

 

“Miss Sheska, what I’m about to tell you can’t be discussed with anyone other than those in this room, Major Armstrong and Mustang. Do you understand?” Ed stressed his words. Sheska looked apprehensive, like she was considering just leaving the room so she didn’t have to be told top-secret information but Ed could see that insatiable hunger to find out everything shining in her eyes.

 

“I won’t tell anyone, Edward. I promise,” Sheska eventually said and Ed believed her. Despite her shy and anxious demeanour, Sheska wasn’t one to break her promises in the face of danger. A glance at the BAU told Ed that they saw that as well.

 

“Miss Maria knows about the first two trips but not about the third one yet so I’ll explain how Mustang and I met the team first,” Ed explained. “The first time Mustang and I disappeared, it was because Truth – er, you know who, or what, Truth is, don’t you?” Ed asked unsure. Sheska didn’t know what the true cause of Ed’s missing limbs or Al’s confinement to the armour for five years was.

 

“There were references to a being known as Truth in a few of alchemic books I’ve read,” Sheska told him and Ed nodded.

 

“Right, so I owed it a favour as part of a deal to get Al back after what happened on Promised Day,” Ed told her, ignoring the saddened looks he and Al were getting. “In exchange for Al, Truth got my right arm and a favour that it could ask of me any time,” he explained. “When Mustang and I went missing the first time, while Al was still in hospital, it was because Truth decided to cash its favour with me. Mustang tagged along because apparently my chances of survival went up if he did.” Ed rolled his eyes. “That was how we met this lot the first time. Mustang and I were sent to an alternate dimension to locate and capture a rogue alchemist, Thomas Harding.” Ed nearly heard Sheska’s jaw hit the desk she was seated at. “The country we landed in was called America and the city was New York. We landed at the crime scene these guys were investigating and were promptly made aware of the fact that they were armed,” Ed smirked when Morgan let out the groan he’d predicted as a reaction.

 

“You are never going to let that go, are you?” Morgan asked.

 

“Both times I landed in your country, I was greeted by the business end of multiple weapons,” Ed pointed out before shushing Morgan’s follow-up comment. “We teamed up, obviously, and managed to hunt down Harding and stop him from hurting more people. We were sent back to Amestris,” Ed told her and no one missed the way he glossed over what happened to Harding. “Three months later, Harding’s adopted brother, Jarrod Moore, managed to lure me into an admittedly well-thought out trap. I was sent back to America and was greeted by another group similar to these guys. That group called this one and they headed to the city I was in to help. At the same time, Mustang managed to fall for the same trap I did and both he and Moore wound up in America with me. Moore took off and we hunted him down with the help of the two groups. Alphonse, our teacher and Major Armstrong managed to open the portal between our worlds long enough for Mustang and me to haul Moore back to Amestris for trial.”

 

“That’s only two trips.” Sheska slapped a hand over her mouth as soon as she spoke, realising she’d interrupted Ed as he was taken a moment to catch his breath. Her cheeks flushed lightly as Ed grinned at her but he didn’t say anything.

 

“The third trip happened a month after our second trip to America. Truth kidnapped me and sent me to what I think was the same dimension but maybe a few years in the future to where they currently are.” Ed gestured to the BAU, who leant forward with more interest than Ed thought they ought to have until he realised he didn’t tell them that on the train. He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Now, what I’m gonna tell you will seem even more unbelievable as inter-dimensional travel but this,” he tapped his tablet, “holds my proof.” He took a deep breath and decided the best way was to just rip the band aid off, so to speak. “So, I was sent to a spaceship in the middle of a war between a group of aliens intent on universal domination and a small group of seven – well, 12 if you count their space-ships – called Voltron and was asked to help out with their war. Mustang followed me to avoid paperwork. I met this groups space-ships, which are actually sentient lions, and formed a mental connection with them all. I made a deal with Truth and stayed with Voltron. I gave the Lions an array each that helped them turn into flesh Lions and we became pretty good friends. We defeated the leader of the alien race and his most powerful alley, helping the turn the tide to Voltron’s favour, and were sent back to Amestris a couple of days later,” Ed told her and if her jaw hadn’t hit the desk before, it damn well near did in response to this story. Maria looked like she was struggling to hold back a comment or disbelieving scoff or both.

 

“Truth stole us from our country and asked us to help it out with a problem here that it couldn’t fix itself. We met up with Edward and will likely go home once our mission here is complete,” Hotch told Sheska. She blinked owlishly at them a few times and no one said a word, fully prepared to let her be the first to speak.

 

“Okay,” Sheska said simply, giggling when everyone started at the sound of her voice.

 

“Okay?” Ed asked, a little perplexed at the lack of reaction. Sheska nodded sharply once.

 

“It sounds far too fantastical for you to have made it up and I still haven’t been able to place their accents,” Sheska told him. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around everything you’ve said but you’ve never played a prank on me like this before so I believe you. You also said you have proof, which I’m sure will go a very long way to completely convince me that what you say is true,” she finished saying confidently.

 

“Well, they’re kinda my only proof from my first two trips. Well, them and some clothing and books they gave me before I left the second time.” At the word ‘books’, Sheska perked up with a lot more interest than she’d shown the whole talk. “I’ll loan you them, if you want,” Ed promised and she looked pleased. “But the tablet has photos and videos of my time with Voltron. I grabbed it this morning when Al and I went back to Miss Gracia’s,” Ed told her, looking up at Maria who seemed like she was still struggling with what she heard. “Miss Maria?” Ed said her name a little cautiously and a little soothingly.

 

“I don’t know why I’m finding it so hard to believe you about this Voltron group. I know dimensional travel is possible, thanks to witnessing it with my own eyes when we brought you, Brigadier-General Mustang and Moore home but this seems… I’m sorry, Ed, but this just seems like some wild fantasy novel.” Maria did look very apologetic about not believing him and Ed was surprised to feel slightly hurt that she didn’t believe him.

 

“How come you brought the tablet here? Wouldn’t it be dangerous if someone caught you with it?” Sheska asked, dragging Ed’s attention back to the group, and Ed shrugged a shoulder.

 

“Nah, I’ll keep it hidden until I get it back to Miss Gracia’s,” Ed assured her. “I brought it here because they didn’t believe me when I told them. Which is honestly fair enough because sometimes I don’t even believe it and it not only happened to me but I’ve still got my connection to the Lions and get regular updates on what’s been going on,” Ed told them, tapping his left temple to indicate how he meant they were talking to him as he fiddled with the tablet. He made a small sound of victory when he managed to get the feature he wanted working.

 

The only people who didn’t gasp were Mustang’s team and Al when a holographic projection sprang up from the tablet’s screen to display the first photo on Ed’s album. It was a photo of Black in her mechanical form with Shiro and Keith barely visible next to her paw, talking and completely unaware they’d been photographed.

 

“This is one of the Lions in her mechanical form. That’s Shiro and Keith, two of the Paladins of Voltron. Shiro pilots Black and Keith pilots Red,” Ed explained. He felt a little smug at the looks of astonishment and awe on the faces of the BAU, Sheska and Maria. He flicked the hologram and next up was a selfie Lance had taken of himself and Blue, with Ed smooshed in between the two of them. Ed smiled fondly as he remembered Lance trying to explain what a selfie was and why people took them. “This is Lance and Blue. Lance is her pilot when she is in her mechanical form. Lance is their team’s sharpshooter, like Miss Riza is for Mustang. He’s nearly as good a shot as she is as well,” Ed told them before flicking to the next photo before any of them could comment on it. Not quick enough though.

 

“You and Lance look like you were quite close. Does your mental bond mean you can connect to the paladins if you can talk to their lions?” JJ asked and Ed shook his head.

 

“No, I can only talk to the Lions. They can pass messages along from their pilot or the Alteans but I can’t actually talk to them. Though, if what Green says is true, Pidge might be very close to figuring out a way to connect to my tablet and send messages to it from them,” Ed told her. Everyone saw the way his eyes shone with cautious hope.

 

“So, who are they?” Prentiss asked, nodding to the new photo which showed Keith and Red lounging on a couch, Keith leaning on his Lion and looking at something the camera didn’t capture.

 

“That’s Keith and Red. As you can probably guess, Red is his Lion,” Ed told them. “Mustang reckons Keith is a lot like me in that he’s a good fighter, if a bit reckless but I think Mustang’s full of it. Keith is seriously good with a sword though, which made sparring against him actually fun,” Ed told them. He scowled at the chuckles his comment about recklessness garnered and flicked to the next photo with a bit more force than necessary for a hologram.

 

This photo was of Green in her mechanical form and Pidge tapping away at her laptop with wires running everywhere. They could see a couple of the mice in the photo as well as Allura, who was leaning over Pidge’s shoulder, completely entranced with whatever was showing on Pidge’s laptop to notice the camera.

 

“This is Pidge and her Lion, Green,” Ed said, pointing to Pidge. “The lady with white hair is Princess Allura of Altea. Her planet and people were lost 10,000 years prior to me meeting her and she and her adviser are the only known survivors of planet Altea. Her father, King Alfor, was an alchemist and so is she, though she needs some training. Her father built the Lions,” Ed told them and watched as they absorbed that information while looking at the photo.

 

“How old is she?” Prentiss couldn’t help but ask. If she was 10,000+ years old, she was looking good for her age.

 

“I’m not sure but she’s not physically 10,000 years old,” Ed told them as he flipped to a photo of Coran having cornered Mustang to tell him one of his many stories from Altea. Mustang had on his polite, diplomatic mask but everyone could see he was also looking for an escape. The photo showed Coran gesturing widely with one arm while the other twiddled his moustache. Quite a few people had to cover up their laughter real quick. “This is Coran, Miss Allura’s adviser. He was a bit eccentric but he was an awesome story-teller and his grandfather was the one who built the space-ship we were on,” Ed told them. “Coran and Allura were placed in cryogenic pods, freezing them but keeping them alive, by her father when the leader of the alien race who wanted to take over the universe turned their sights on Altea. King Alfor had split the Lions up and sent the ship with Allura and Coran on it as far away as he could before Altea was lost. The Paladins didn’t find them until 10,000 years had passed and they stumbled onto Blue.”

 

The next photo Ed flipped to showed Hunk and Shiro in the kitchen while Yellow and Black sat in the middle of the floor, forcing their Paladins to move around them. Black was lying regally while Yellow had draped herself over her sister so her front paws and head rested on Black’s back.

 

“These are Black, Yellow, Shiro and Hunk. Black is Shiro’s and Yellow is Hunk’s,” Ed told them, pointing to the Paladin in question when he said their name. “I think Hunk was trying to teach Shiro to cook since he’s apparently useless in the kitchen,” Ed told them before pulling up one of his favourite photos; the one where he and Lance were laying completely on the five Lions in the library and were reading books on one of their breaks from training. It had been one of the only times Lance had been able to uphold his deal and teach him Altean, Galran and Spanish, lessons they were actually able to continue thanks to their bonds with Blue.

 

“You said you can still talk with the Lions?” Reid asked after silence reigned in the office for a few minutes while the BAU, Sheska and Maria allowed the pictures and stories Ed had shown and told them to sink in. Ed nodded. “Why haven’t we heard or seen you talk to them?” He asked.

 

“You wouldn’t have heard me talk to them because we can communicate telepathically but I haven’t spoken with them since the night I found you in Resembool,” Ed continued with the explanation he knew he’d be asked for. “I asked them to mute our bond so I wouldn’t be distracted by what was happening with them while trying to sort this mess out,” Ed gestured to the case files still scattered on the desks. “They were okay with it since they were going to ask me to do the same thing shortly after I asked them. They said they had a lot of missions to do back-to-back that needed them to focus 100% and they know how often I get into fights because criminals have to continually prove they’re idiots.” Ed scowled when that garnered a laugh from the majority of the room. Hawkeye, Hotch and Falman were the only ones who didn’t laugh but they had an amused glint in their eyes that Ed didn’t appreciate either.

 

“Edward?” Sheska’s voice had turned shy once more but Ed gave her his attention and a silent gesture to ask. “Can you tell me more about your trips? They sound fascinating and I’d love to hear everything about them.” Sheska asked hopefully and Ed gave her a grin.

 

“I think we can do that. I’m sure they’ll have plenty to tell you about what it was like from their point of view,” Ed said, indicating to the BAU, some of whom were smirking already. Ed leaned back in his chair to make himself comfortable and waited for everyone to do the same. Ed felt a little bad about the fact that they were gossiping about his inter-dimensional travels instead of trying to help Mustang but at the same time he knew there wasn’t much they could do tonight, except go over the case files and other gathered information for the 100th time. He glanced at Hawkeye to see what her reaction was to this and she caught his eye before he started talking and gave him a near-invisible nod of support. Letting go of the breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding, he turned his attention back to the group and took in Sheska and Maria’s eager expressions. “Okay, so like I said earlier, I owed Truth a favour…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I haven't said this before but I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has left me a comment on this story so far :) I really do love reading the comments left by you guys


	15. Chapter 15

Despite what Mustang might believe and whine to his team, sans Edward, the blonde alchemist did know how to be on time. There was a smug smirk on his face when the blonde saw the surprised looks on the present generals when he and Hawkeye entered the conference room the meeting was being held in. As always, Hawkeye’s impassive mask hid her amusement well to all present, with the exception being her grandfather, Fuhrer Grumman, but the older man had a mask just as impassive and impressive as hers so no one saw his amusement either.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, so nice of you to _finally_ join us,” Combes sneered the moment Ed sat and slumped in one of the spare chairs, putting a couple of chairs between him and the nearest general. Grumman was seated opposite the blonde but he had generals on either side of him so they were on either side of the rectangular table. Ed noted with interest that there was no seat at the head of the table. Ed’s golden eyes snapped to Combes and levelled him with the flattest look he’d ever given.

 

“It’s 10:00am. I do believe that was the agreed upon time for us being dragged to this meeting. Ain’t my fault you lot decided to get here early,” Ed sniped at the general, getting a small about of pleasure at the mustached man immediately bristled at his tone. Hawkeye gave the general an indifferent look when the man’s eyes found hers.

 

“Aides aren’t permitted in this meeting. Captain Hawkeye will need to leave.” Combes wasn’t the one to speak this time, though his annoyed look at the general on his left told them he wanted to.

 

“Captain Hawkeye has my permission to stay,” Grumman told them before Ed could retort.

 

“Sir, I must protest. Our own aides were turned away from this meeting and – no offense to Captain Hawkeye intended – this meeting may very well stray into things above her rank.” This was said by the general on Grumman’s direct left. Ed didn’t know this particular man, who looked near Grumman’s age but his build reminded Ed of a bulldog, short, broad-shouldered and there was an air about him that would make the average person feel wary around him. What struck Ed the most was the fact that his tone towards Grumman was actually respectful rather than the condescending tone Ed was used to hearing from generals.

 

“I’m aware this seems unfair and ordinarily I would agree with the points you raise here, General Brathwaite, but I’m making an exception this time,” Grumman told them, staring at a general who mumbled something that sounded like ‘because she’s your granddaughter’, before continuing when Combes looked like he was going to protest. “Lieutenant-Colonel Elric is new to his rank and prior to this situation, he has never dealt with anyone of higher rank than himself other than me, his commanding-officer and the late Major-General Andrews. As she has had more experience due to her duties with meetings like this one, I believe Captain Hawkeye would be beneficial to helping Lieutenant-Colonel Elric understand the lay of the land, so to speak.” Grumman’s tone didn’t allow any room for argument on the matter and the generals, despite the majority of them looking like they wanted to, didn’t argue.

 

“Very well, Your Excellency,” Brathwaite dipped his head submissively before looking around at those gathered. “I believe the only thing we were asked to converge for was to discuss something that Generals Combes and Widdon deemed important enough to call a meeting with barely any notice. Perhaps we should hear what they wished to discuss now.” If Ed wasn’t mistaken – and he rarely was, thank you very much – he thought he could hear a note of irritation in the general’s tone. The pointed look he gave Combes and Widdon sent the two men into action.

 

“Thank you, General Braithwaite. We apologise for any disturbances to your plans our request has caused,” Combes didn’t look like he agreed with Widdon’s words, “but we believed this matter to be something that simply couldn’t wait until the next scheduled meeting,” he told them and Ed kept his face looking impressively bored with the current talk. He would’ve put his feet up on the table in a passive-aggressive show of disrespect but Hawkeye wouldn’t approve and he only wanted to piss off certain people at the table, not all of them, after all.

 

“Well?” A general seated next to Brathwaite asked impatiently when Widdon didn’t immediately tell them what this matter was. “We don’t have all day, General Widdon,” the woman reminded him, a warning glint in her green eyes. Ed observed her for a moment, trying to get a gauge on what she was like. She was of average height and her once-raven hair was more grey than black due to age but she didn’t look much older than Combes and she certainly didn’t give the impression that she was softer than those around her due to her gender.

 

“My apologies, General Sayer.” Ed wondered if he was the only one who saw the aborted eye-roll Widdon made. “We wish to discuss former,” Widdon sent Ed a glare, “Brigadier-General Mustang’s trial date.” Ed didn’t bother stopping his own eye-roll.

 

“Looks like Havoc won that bet,” Ed muttered to Hawkeye from the corner of his mouth, loud enough for her ears only. Either he wasn’t as quiet as he thought he was or Combes had sharper eyes than Ed realised because the man was quick to comment.

 

“Something you’d like to share, Elric?” Combes barked at him.

 

“Not with you and it’s Lieutenant-Colonel. I know you know this because I told you when you barged into Mustang’s office after you raided it,” Ed snapped back before Grumman could intervene. Combes’ face flushed a furious red.

 

“You’re the one always going around and telling people you don’t care about your rank,” Widdon stated, coming to Combes’ defense.

 

“Only people I like don’t have to address me by my rank,” Ed informed him. The words ‘and I don’t like you’ didn’t have to be added to his statement, judging from the way Combes and Widdon’s metaphoric hackles raised. Hawkeye’s hand brushed against Ed’s left shoulder unseen, signaling him to tread carefully. It had been a signal they’d agreed upon when Al had voiced his worries more than once during the hours they were in the office before the meeting. Hawkeye had promised she wouldn’t let Ed be insubordinate enough to warrant punishment by giving him a signal to indicate he needed to watch his behaviour. Ed had agreed, if only to soothe Alphonse’s worries a little.

 

“Shall we continue this meeting? Some of us have trains to catch,” the general on Grumman’s right said and Grumman nodded in agreement.

 

“General Jones has a point. Both he and General Smythe have trains to catch back to their cities today and I’m sure everyone else at this table has work they need to be doing so if this meeting could continue, that would be ideal,” Grumman said coolly. Ed’s eyes fell on the now identified General Smythe, who had been the one to mutter about Hawkeye, and decided he didn’t like him just for that reason. There was something shifty about the beady-eyed man that had Ed’s gut telling him to not trust him.

 

“Of course, Fuhrer Grumman,” Widdon said agreeably. “General Combes and I would like for the high command gathered today to grant us permission to push for former Brigadier-General Mustang’s trial to go forward immediately,” Widdon said and Ed didn’t like the way Smythe, Sayer or Jones straightened with interest a little.

 

“Your argument?” Grumman sounded a little tired when he asked. Ed bit his tongue so he wouldn’t immediately tell Combes and Widdon to fuck off rather than hearing them out, like Hotch had suggested earlier.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, his team and the team of specialists you permitted to work on the former brigadier-general’s defense have had nearly four days to find any evidence to support their claims that Mustang is being framed and they have found nothing of import. We all know this was a last-ditch effort for Mustang to try and weasel his way out of being tried for his crimes and General Combes and I believe that the extra three days the defense have will turn up the same results as the previous four days have,” Widdon claimed, face remaining neutral but everyone could see the nasty gleam in his eyes. Ed kept his face as devoid of emotion as he could, as did Hawkeye and Grumman. Jones didn’t look like he was buying what Widdon was trying to sell and Ed thought Sayer might not be interested in Widdon’s words for the reason Ed had assumed. “It’s a waste of taxpayer’s money and our time when we all know what the end result of this desperate investigation will be. General Combes and I believe that the evidence gathered against Mustang during the original investigation headed by Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes is more than enough to send Mustang to trial today and it’s only due to our Fuhrer’s soft-heart that Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and Mustang’s defense have been granted this week.”

 

Grumman’s face remained carefully blank but it was all Ed could do to not launch across the table and smash Widdon and Combes’ faces into the table to wipe the smug looks off their faces, like they’d already won. Smythe was nodding in agreement while Jones looked disgusted at Widdon and Combes. Sayer and Brathwaite looked far more neutral and Ed held out hope that their neutrality was real.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Grumman’s voice was a level of calm that Ed was surprised at, “would you be able to give a report of your team’s and the team of consultants findings? Apart from myself, only Generals Widdon and Combes have been privy to those findings. I believe any decision made on this subject by this council should be made when everyone has the same information,” Grumman said, causing Sayer, Brathwaite and Jones to nod their agreement with his request. Smythe, Widdon and Combes were the only ones who didn’t look happy with it and Ed wondered if Smythe was an idiot, already aware of the BAU’s findings or had been lied to by Widdon and Combes to believe that Ed’s team and the BAU had truly found nothing and would likely lie in this meeting to get what he wants.

 

“Would you like to hear it from me or the team leader of the team of consultants?” Ed asked, keeping his voice as respectful as he could manage, which was relatively easy since he truly did respect Grumman.

 

“We don’t have the time to waste waiting for you to go get someone,” Widdon scoffed. Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“Ignoring the fact that there’s such thing as phones and I could just make a quick phone call,” Ed’s voice was rather condescending but Hawkeye didn’t give him the signal to ease up so he continued, “we figured this meeting would be you trying to bully everyone into pushing Mustang’s trial forward so you don’t risk us figuring out who really is behind these crimes. So, we asked Mr. Hotchner to come with us and wait outside in case he was needed,” Ed told them and was rewarded with surprised reactions from Smythe and Brathwaite, approving nods from Jones and Sayer and a proud smile from Grumman that disappeared almost as soon as Ed saw it in favour of his impassive mask.

 

“We would like to hear from Mr. Hotchner. Captain Hawkeye, if you wouldn’t mind grabbing him for us?” Grumman asked. Hawkeye saluted before heading for the door to do as she was asked.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman, this is preposterous. We don’t need to hear from any of them. We already know this is just a desperate ploy from the accused’s team to try and manipulate us into believing there’s a chance he’s actually innocent. Our evidence proves he isn’t!” Combes cried indignantly as Hawkeye walked away. Ed glanced at her and was not surprised to see she gave no indication she’d heard. A glance at Grumman told him the man as annoyed by Combes’ statement as Ed was.

 

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Combes, but we’re here for you and Widdon to try and get Fuhrer Grumman to grant you permission to have Mustang’s trial moved forward, yeah?” Ed asked, looking bored at the whole thing, but didn’t let Combes do much more than puff up like an angry cat before continuing. “That means that Mustang’s trial hasn’t started and a verdict hasn’t been made by a panel of jurors. Which means that you are once again ignoring the whole ‘innocent until proven guilty in a court of law’ concept. Seriously, go get checked for dementia or Alzheimer’s or whatever is causing your rather selective memory loss,” Ed snarked at the man. Hawkeye and Hotch entering the room put a stop to any comment Combes or anyone else was going to say though Ed thought he saw Grumman wink at him.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman, Generals, this is Mr. Aaron Hotchner, team leader of the group of consultants working in conjunction with Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s team and the defense,” Hawkeye introduced Hotch, who nodded to the generals and Grumman, no emotion on his face.

 

“It’s good to see you again, Mr. Hotchner,” Grumman said warmly and honestly. “Would you be willing to give us all a report on everything you and your team have found since I first met you and granted you the week to perform your own investigation?” Grumman asked and Hotch nodded.

 

"Of course, sir," Hotch replied as Hawkeye moved to stand behind Ed once more. Hotch stayed where he was, near the end of the table so he could face everyone. He stood straight-backed, with his hands clasped behind his back, almost mimicking parade rest, face neutral as he looked at those around the table. “As I haven’t met all of you before, I’d like to begin by giving you a little bit of background about our methods and specialties.” At Grumman’s nod, Hotch nodded back. “My team is a group of highly trained law enforcement officers who specialise in a method of investigation known as behavioural analysis.”

 

“Behavioural analysis?” Jones asked, interrupting Hotch. To his credit, Hotch didn’t seem to mind the interruption.

 

“Yes. As a team, we are available to any local law enforcement department in our country. When we are called in to assist with a case, we look at several factors:  the physical evidence left behind at the scene, the behaviour of the unknown subject, or unsub, and something that we call victimology – the study of the victim in the crime. Using these factors, we apply our training, our knowledge of psychology, sociology, and historical and legal precedent to build a behavioural and psychological profile of the unsub. Once we have that profile, we begin applying it to the list of potential suspects in order to narrow down the identity of the unsub. We are also able to use the profile to help predict when and where the unsub will strike next.”

 

Edward noticed the sceptical looks on the faces of Combes, Widdon, and Smythe. The rest of the generals had more neutral expressions on their faces so it was hard to read what they thought about what Hotch was saying. He could only hope that they were at least going to be more open-minded based on what had already been said in the meeting.

 

“Whenever we begin an investigation, we always take an objective look at the case. We never look at suspect lists, law enforcement records of convicted criminals, or any previously formed conclusions made by the law enforcement departments we are called in to assist. This allows us to keep our perspective unbiased,” Hotch continued. “Once Führer Grumman gave us permission to investigate this case, we approached it in the same way that we would approach any other. We began by reviewing the case files assembled by Lieutenant Colonel Brookes to make sure that we had a thorough understanding of the crimes to date. Primarily, we wanted to make sure we reviewed the evidence that had been collected at the scene, the interviews that Brookes had already completed, and the backgrounds on the victims. We were aware, of course, that Brigadier General Mustang was, and remains, the primary suspect in these killings, and while we’ve been keeping that possibility open, we have also been looking for any evidence that someone else could be involved. We’ve found in the many years that our team has been using behavioural analysis that it is often not the most obvious suspect, even if they do seem to match the profile.”

 

“If you put such stock in these profiles of yours, yet you disregard them because of the person who matches to them, what use are they?” Combes snapped rudely. Ed bristled but Hawkeye placed her hand against his back again in their signal to control his temper.

 

“A psychological profile is only a tool, General Combes,” Hotch said calmly, not rising to the bait. “In addition to the profile, we look at the physical evidence, the connections that the suspect has to the victims, and the suspect’s motives in committing the crime.”

 

“Have you developed a profile for this particular case yet, Mr. Hotchner?” Grumman asked, his tone genuinely curious.

 

“We have developed a preliminary profile, Your Excellency. We are continuing to revise it as we gather more information and investigate further, but we’ve already made some interesting connections and conclusions about the unsub in this case.” Hotch went to continue but was interrupted.

 

“I’m sorry to interrupt but ‘unsub’?” Brathwaite asked, a slight look of confusion on his face at the unfamiliar word.

 

“My apologies. ‘Unsub’ is simply a contraction of the words ‘unknown subject’,” Hotch explained and Brathwaite nodded his understanding. Hotch paused for a moment before continuing from before the interruption. “Almost immediately, the first thing we noticed about this case was the unsub’s methodology. Each victim was found in an alley behind a popular bar or tavern, which is a potentially high-risk location for a crime of this nature. If the victims had screamed or put up a fight, it could have drawn the attention of the patrons of the bar or other people passing by on the street. All the victims were trained military officers of mid-to-high rank who we would classify as low-risk victims, unlikely to be attacked in this fashion, but high-risk to the unsub because they would have self-defence training and be more likely to be able to defend themselves. Normally, this would indicate to us that the unsub is most likely a disorganised offender. Disorganised offenders tend to be impulsive and erratic in their behaviour and are more likely to leave evidence linking them to the crime behind at the scene.”

 

“You said normally,” General Sayer observed. “Does that mean that you have a different opinion in this case?”

 

“Yes,” Hotch replied. “The nature of the crime scenes, the level of control exerted by the unsub, and the fact that there was so little evidence left behind also indicates to us that the unsub could be classified as organised. Organised killers are methodical, detail-oriented, and take the time and effort to plan out their crimes and remove any evidence of their presence from the scene. “

 

“So how would you explain that contradiction? I’m assuming a killer cannot be both organised and disorganised?” General Brathwaite asked.

 

“You would be correct. Because of this, we look at the other facts that we’ve gathered, beginning with the crime scenes and the behaviour of the unsub,” Hotch replied. “Thanks to an in-depth interview with General Armstrong and a re-examination of the scene of her attack with Lieutenant Colonel Brookes, we believe that we were able to reconstruct how the attack occurred. Based on the information provided to us, the unsub appeared to have used the voice recording of a woman crying for help to lure the victims into the alleyway. Once the victims were deep into the alley and away from an easy escape back onto the street, they were ambushed from behind – a blitz attack with overpowering force. The fact that the unsub used a blitz attack could indicate that he didn’t feel as if he could handle the victim face-to-face, so he used unexpected and overwhelming force to gain quick and decisive control of the situation with minimum risk to himself.”

 

“That doesn’t automatically eliminate Mustang as a suspect. He could easily have attacked the victims in order to avoid a fight,” Widdon pointed out stubbornly. “Everything you said about being detail-oriented would describe him as well.”

 

“That is true and these facts alone are not enough for us to definitively rule him out,” Hotch said. “However, there are more than just those facts to consider. One of the many methods we use when dealing with living victims is a sensory memory recall technique called a cognitive interview. The subconscious mind is incredibly good at noticing details around it, but often the conscious mind suppresses those details, especially when adrenaline is flowing and the body is in a ‘fight or flight’ mode. General Armstrong consented to an interview where we applied this technique. She was asked to recount her attack to us again, and at intervals my team member asked her questions about small details that she likely noted subconsciously, but not consciously – things like scents, sounds, or how something felt when she touched it. From this interview, we were able to determine several significant details about General Armstrong’s attacker. While she had previously stated that her attacker wore the gender-neutral version of the military uniform and she was unable to state with absolute certainty if her attacker was male or female, she did recall that the uniform jacket was missing a button as she could clearly see the white dress shirt the attacker wore underneath before she was struck on the head and her vision became unreliable. A search of the previous crime scenes has not resulted in the button being found and Lieutenant Colonel Brookes stated that no button was found during their initial search either.”

 

Edward gave Hotch a questioning look at the agent nodded, falling silent to allow Edward to speak. “I accompanied General Combes and General Widdon on their search of Mustang’s home, and all of his issued uniforms were there. I checked all the uniforms and none of them were missing a button. There was no evidence that he had used alchemy to repair any of the uniforms, and the wear and tear on all the uniforms was consistent – there was no evidence that they had been repaired in a more traditional manner.”

 

Several of the generals nodded in response to Edward’s statement before returning their attention to Hotch. The agent gathered his thoughts before he continued. “We also know, based on General Armstrong’s description of her attacker and how he moved that the attacker is likely the same height or slightly shorter than General Armstrong and likely has a slender and agile build. The alleyway was narrow, and General Armstrong detected the trap and stopped in a location that would have been extremely awkward for the attacker to get past her, but he still managed to get behind her without alerting her to his presence until that first blow. The unsub has also most likely received basic hand-to-hand combat training, but limited training in stealth, as he reacted in surprise once General Armstrong detected the trap. We also believe that the attacker may not be particularly strong or confident in his combat skills or hasn’t kept up with his training in recent months.”

 

“And why is that?” General Jones asked. “Military officers are expected to maintain a certain level of fitness in the event they are sent out on the front lines.”

 

“He wasn’t able to take General Armstrong down with a single hit the way he was with Bryce, Pardi, and Summers,” Hotch explained. “He also got winded during the brief scuffle with General Armstrong and had difficulty in controlling his breathing once Armstrong was down. Further, he had to rely on a blitz attack in every case except for the attacks on General Henley and General Andrews.”

 

“Why were they the exceptions, Mr. Hotchner?” General Sayer inquired.

 

“There is evidence at Andrews’ crime scene that he fought back against his attacker. As I stated previously, we believe that the unsub used the lure of a woman’s voice calling for help over and over and that it worked, but Andrews figured out it was a trap. The unsub still managed to hit Andrews much as he did Armstrong, as evidenced by the autopsy report, and that initial blow was enough to turn the fight against Andrews, despite his efforts to defend himself. The same would have happened to General Armstrong if not for the timing of the waitress who found her. As for General Henley, Lieutenant Colonel Elric and my team are in agreement that she was not likely to have been lured in using the same technique as General Andrews and General Armstrong.”

 

The only reason that Edward didn’t complain about Hotch using his military title was because, during their discussion earlier about how to handle this meeting, they’d decided that, in order to appear neutral and open minded, Hotch needed to be professional and formal in front of the generals and Grumman. This meant using everyone’s military rank, even though he sighed at his friend addressing him so formally.

 

“How do you believe the killer lured her into the alleyway than?” General Jones asked, and his tone indicated that he was genuinely curious, rather than irritated. Hotch looked at Edward, who nodded and turned his attention to Jones.

 

“In the months before her death, Henley had become extremely paranoid and distrusting of everyone. She’d accused several soldiers of working for Mustang or me and trying to spy on her. She also wasn’t very nice. I seriously doubt, given how paranoid she had become, that she would’ve gone out of her way to help anyone in an alleyway. She also wouldn’t have followed just anyone into the alley, since as I said she was under the delusion that Mustang and I had control of every lower-ranked soldier in Central.” Ed rolled his eyes. “We think that whoever attacked her lured her into the alley with a promise of some dirt on us or some information to help her fight against the charges we were hoping to lay on her.”

 

“It was thanks to our investigation of General Henley’s crime scene,” Hotch continued smoothly, stopping Widdon and Combes from making their thoughts on Edward’s theory known, “that we also found out that the attacker’s dominant hand is their left, given the location of the wound on Henley’s head and the way her body was found positioned in the alley when it was discovered. We believe that, unlike the other victims, Henley very well may have been the only victim who got a clear look at the unsub before she was struck over the head and knocked unconscious, as she wouldn’t have followed the voice of someone she hadn’t gotten a good look at. We also learned from that scene that the attacker is likely an alchemist, however, I would prefer to let Lieutenant Colonel Elric discuss our findings as they relate to his area of expertise.”

 

Grumman nodded in agreement. “We’ll hear from Lieutenant Colonel Elric in a moment then. Is there anything else Mr. Hotchner?”

 

“Yes sir. Yesterday, two members of my team were escorted to the crime lab here in Central to discuss any results they might have from the tests ordered by Lieutenant Colonel Brookes and the coroner who autopsied the bodies of the victims. The lab still has some outstanding tests that they are waiting for results on, but they have completed a few of them and they have hopes that the remaining test results will be in within a few days.”

 

Grumman straightened with interest. “What results?”

 

“They’ve run ballistics on the weapons carried by some of the victims to see if any of them were able to fire at their attack, but all tests came back negative. Their testing of the victims bloods have confirmed abnormally large amounts of carbon monoxide, proving that they were all alive at the time they were set alight. They also found blood at General Andrews’ crime scene that was not from him but was spilled at the same time as his was. The blood samples were typed and while the results do match Brigadier General Mustang, they also match thirty percent of the Amestrian population,” Hotch added the last part when Combes and Widdon looked like they were going to say something. “They’re also running comparisons on the fingerprints, fibres, and hairs found at the scenes, but we’ve been informed not to expect any definitive results that will help the prosecution.”

 

“Why is that, Mr. Hotchner?” Brathwaite asked. “If those results provide proof that Mustang was in the alleyway, why wouldn’t the prosecution use them?”  Widdon and Combes were nodding emphatically in agreement, like this question proved their whole argument.

 

“Simply because the crime scenes are irregularly cleaned and are open to the public. In my professional opinion, those samples would harm the prosecution’s case as much as it would support it. Prior to joining this unit, I worked as a prosecutor for my country’s government, and while those results would appear to be beneficial to the prosecution, they would also help the defence, as General Mustang’s lawyer could argue that he was indeed in that alley, but it was days or even weeks earlier and that’s how his fingerprints or hairs ended up there. General Mustang has admitted to having frequented all of the bars where the victims were found in the past. My understanding is that none of the fingerprints or hairs were found with any of the victims’ blood on them, so there’s nothing to directly link them to the timeframe in which the attacks occurred. Any fibres that match his uniform would be laughed out of court. After all, those fibres could come from the uniform of any military officer,” Hotch explained, giving a pointed look at the military blue that everyone except Edward was wearing. Most of the generals nodded in acceptance at his words.

 

“Anything else, Mr. Hotchner?” Grumman asked, hoping to keep the meeting on track before Combes or Widdon found a way to complain about something.

 

“There was also evidence at the scenes and in the crime scene photos taken by Lieutenant Colonel Brookes’ team that indicated that an accelerant may have been used. The burn patterns on the bodies and scorch marks at the crime scene certainly support the use of an accelerant,” Hotch replied. “Serial killers who use fire are exceedingly rare. Less than one percent of serial killer victims are killed by being burned, although many killers do burn the bodies after death as a way to dispose of the remains and/or evidence left behind.”

 

“That could simply be Mustang attempting to throw this investigation off!” Widdon objected.

 

“That is true.” Hotch nodded in agreement. “Combining the evidence gathered by my team and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s team with what Lieutenant Colonel Brookes and his team gathered since these murders began, my team has begun to put together a preliminary profile of this killer. While we are still waiting for a few more interviews to be conducted and the rest of the lab reports to come in before we finalise it, we base our profiles on historical and psychological precedent as well as evidence, which I believe I mentioned before. Some of the first questions we always ask after reviewing the case files is why and what? More specifically, we ask ‘why this victim; why this method’?  What is the significance to the killer? What do the scenes and the suspect’s behaviour tell us about him?  Did he show any signs of remorse? What about signs of hatred, rage, or jealousy?”

 

“Those are too subjective to be of any value,” Combes protested.

 

“Forgive me, General Combes, but I disagree,” Hotch replied. “Most law enforcement officers aren’t trained to look for the things that my team and I are, so the emotional state of the killer can make a significant impact. Many serial killers lash out at people who remind them of one particular person – a lover who broke their heart, someone they see as an enemy, their mother who was never proud of them and didn’t show any affection. None of the victims could be classified as falling into the same type and since the suspect attacked both men and women, we were able to eliminate that possibility. That left us with the possibility that this killer was targeting specific people with whom he has a prior relationship.”

 

“This does describe Mustang. He did have adversarial relationships with or something to gain from killing each victim,” Smythe said, glancing at Widdon and Combes like he was looking for approval. Ed wasn’t sure whether he wanted to smack him or throw up.

 

“On the surface it would appear that way,” Hotch said. “But looking more deeply into the victims presents some interesting contradictions. While it’s true that Captain Bryce and General Mustang had an admitted dislike for each other stemming from their days at the military academy, they hadn’t had any contact since the academy until the night Bryce was killed. They weren’t posted to the same locations, they never served under the same commander, Mustang was never placed in command of Bryce, and they certainly didn’t travel in the same social circles. Although they did have an altercation on that night, Mustang ultimately did Bryce a favour by not putting him on report for conduct unbecoming of an officer. From witness statements, Mustang would have had every right to do so, but because no one was hurt in the altercation and the bar’s bouncer stepped in before it became physical, he declined to do so. For him to then turn around and burn Bryce to death in the alley less than an hour later seems impractical and illogical.”

 

“But not impossible,” Widdon said.

 

Edward rolled his eyes. “Nothing is impossible and if you keep interrupting Mr. Hotchner, we’re never going to get anywhere with this. Just be quiet and let the man talk already.”

 

Widdon glared at Edward but didn’t comment any further. Hotch took a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing.

 

“Major Pardi was indirectly placed under Mustang’s command once Mustang was promoted to brigadier general, but Lieutenant Colonel Brookes’ investigation shows that they have not had any interaction in that time because Pardi was under disciplinary action assigned by Major General Andrews, which meant he wasn’t taking any assignments from General Mustang until the disciplinary period had ended. Mustang stated that he had never met Pardi as he hadn’t been made a State Alchemist until after Promised Day, at which time Pardi had been assigned to work in Ishval after the Promised Day. His return from Ishval found him being subjected to the disciplinary action imposed by Andrews because Pardi was lobbying for Mustang to be prosecuted for war crimes, despite the fact that he’d already been pardoned and that Pardi had been ordered to cease his lobbying. This made Pardi an annoyance certainly, but not a serious threat to the general.

 

“As for Colonel Summers, the root of his anger with General Mustang was jealousy over the fact that Mustang is so young to hold the rank he currently does. Once again Brookes’ investigation and our own follow-up interviews have not revealed any prior personal contact between the colonel and the general. They didn’t move in the same social circles, and Summers wasn’t a State Alchemist so he wasn’t under Mustang’s command, other than the fact that Mustang outranked him. The lack of contact between the first three victims and Mustang makes it very unlikely that he would have anything to do with it – they weren’t a threat to him or his position within the military because they were lower ranked than he was and if they had become a threat, the General would have had other methods of recourse than killing them in a dark alley.”

 

“What about Henley?  Lieutenant Colonel Elric admitted that Mustang was her enemy because of the investigation he was conducting against her,” Widdon said triumphantly. “And with General Andrews’ dead, everyone knew that Mustang stood to gain even more power since he was the most likely person to fill Andrews’ position.”

 

Hotch nodded. “Henley was the first victim which I would agree Mustang had a true adversarial relationship with. Just being enemies with someone, however, doesn’t mean that you will lash out at them and attack them,” Hotch told them. “However, this unsub went from targeting Mustang’s rivals or admitted enemies to targeting the one person whose death would directly benefit Mustang, only to turn around and target General Andrews – who by all accounts was considered a friend by Mustang and whose death would only benefit Mustang if he was chosen to replace Andrews – before targeting General Armstrong, who – while she may not have liked Mustang personally – admits that she would consider him a tentative ally if the situation called for it. There are not many serial killers who would drastically change their motivation for killing in the way this unsub did.”

 

“What about the fact that they were all burned?” Sayer asked. “General Mustang is the Flame Alchemist and fire is one of his preferred weapons of choice if he has to fight.”

 

Hotch nodded. “And we haven’t eliminated him completely since we are continuing to wait for a few more pieces of information, especially a final confirmation on whether there were any traces of accelerant found on the bodies or in the alleys. However, based on my experience and the experience of my team, the fact that the victims _were_ burned makes it less likely that Mustang could be behind these crimes. As the only flame alchemist in the country, using fire to kill these victims would be like signing his name to the crime scenes and General Mustang’s record indicates a high level of intelligence – too high for him to make that sort of mistake five times over. Especially since we believe this killer falls more into the classification of an organised killer where every piece of evidence is taken into consideration and every move is carefully thought out. There are simply too many things that the killer did right – planning the scene of the attack, arriving with the implements needed to lure the victims into those alleyways, possibly bringing along an accelerant that either burned up completely or wouldn’t leave any detectable trace, knowing enough about Mustang’s habits and relationships with the victims to be able to single these six out for elimination for us to believe that they overlooked who would be the prime suspect when the cause of death was learned.”

 

Combes and Widdon grumbled openly at that statement. Grumman stared them down for a moment. “Mr. Hotchner, we will hear from Lieutenant Colonel Elric next, but what further avenues of investigation do you still have ahead of you, since you stated that you were still waiting on a few things?”

 

“One of my team members, Ms. Jareau, is a media specialist. Among other things, she is our team’s liaison with reporters, journalists, and the law enforcement officers we assist. She sorts through any media coverage of the cases we take on and will speak to the reporters or radio hosts to find out if they’ve had any contact with the unsub, where they got their information for their articles, and release statements from our team to the general public if we are looking for witnesses or for anyone to report a sighting of the suspect.”

 

Ed thought he saw Combes and Widdon pale slightly at the mention of where the media got their information, but neither said anything and Ed wasn’t going to call them out for fear of Hawkeye’s disapproval at causing a scene unnecessarily.

 

“She’s been reading every article she could find pertaining to the investigation and the murders and has found a few articles interesting enough to warrant her going to speak to the journalists of the aforementioned articles with another member of our team and an escort from Lieutenant Colonel Elric’s team today. Others on my team are going to speak to the coroner who conducted the autopsies on the victims, as well as another coroner who is intimately familiar with how confirmed victims of General Mustang look when they arrive on his table,” Hotch continued. “Tomorrow we may have more leads to follow based on these interviews and more test results arriving from the crime lab.”

 

“Was there anything else, Mr. Hotchner?” Grumman asked.

 

“No, Your Excellency. The only other thing left undiscussed is the alchemy, which Lieutenant Colonel Elric will explain.”

 

The generals and Grumman all turned their attention over to Edward, who leaned forward and tried his best to adopt the sort of serious expression Mustang did during mission briefings or when dealing with a superior officer. It felt weird, but he focused on what he needed to tell them.

 

“We believe this killer to be an alchemist, based on some signs that we found while examining the scenes where General Henley, General Andrews, and General Armstrong were attacked,” Edward began.

 

“You even admit it, Lieutenant Colonel,” Widdon said. “Mustang is an alchemist and you just said that an alchemist committed these crimes. Obviously, he left signs but you still refuse to admit he could be behind this. Instead, you’re clinging to some delusion that there just happens to be another flame alchemist out there.”

 

“That’s some next level bullshit and I’m honestly a little impressed that you managed to twist what I just said that much,” Ed declared before talking over Widdon when he tried to say something more. “In case you happened to miss pretty much everything Mr. Hotchner,” using Hotch’s full name was weird and Ed didn’t like it, “just spent a lot of time explaining to you when he could have been investigating things further, we _don’t_ think there’s a second flame alchemist out there. That would be impossible, since Mustang is the only living person with knowledge of flame alchemy. I’m his subordinate and a known alchemic prodigy and I still don’t know the secrets of flame alchemy, though I am gonna be honest and admit it’s because I don’t particularly want to know how flame alchemy works. Now, because you clearly didn’t hear Mr. Hotchner any of the times he said it, I’ll repeat it once more for you.” Ed glared at Widdon. “We believe there was an accelerant poured onto the bodies once the victims were knocked out and they were set alight with a match or a lighter. Honestly, it was seriously amazing to witness you pulling that claim out of thin air.”  Ed rolled his eyes to show his impressed tone was complete sarcasm.

 

“If I may,” General Sayer interrupted, “would you please get back to the subject at hand?”

 

Ed nodded. “Sure, General Sayer. I accompanied the team consisting of my brother, Mr. Hotchner, Mr. Morgan, Dr. Reid, and Lieutenant Colonel Brookes to the three scenes I mentioned before General Widdon interrupted and investigated alongside them. At the crime scenes of General Armstrong and General Andrews, my brother and I found evidence of alchemy having been used recently. Despite what General Widdon and General Combes seem to believe, flame alchemy doesn’t leave behind evidence of its use in the same manner as other alchemic transmutations.  Flame alchemy doesn’t transmute something physical like earth or wood, which means it leaves no marks. What it does do is leave behind all of the common indicators of fire being used in that location, like soot or scorch marks. It’s very similar to when I use my tracking array or draw moisture out of the air for a freezing transmutation. The arrays used in the two alleys were earth arrays, used to manipulate the wall of the alley to create a barricade of sorts, roughly two meters high and half a meter wide for the killer to hide behind while their lure drew the generals in. The wall was then alchemised back to its original state, but there was still evidence left behind of the transmutations.”

 

“But this wasn’t found at General Henley’s crime scene?” Jones asked.

 

Edward nodded again. “No, it wasn’t and we think that’s because she was lured in differently than the others were. Until we get a confession from the real killer or someone figures out how to communicate with the dead to ask Henley herself, we won’t know for certain, but like I said earlier, she was extremely paranoid and distrustful of just about everyone. Even before our investigation into her actions on the Promised Day began, she was reported to be a bitch who wouldn’t lift a finger to help others unless she could see a way that it benefited her somehow,” Ed told them unabashedly.

 

“Lieutenant Colonel Elric,” General Sayer said, drawing his attention to her. “Why was the wall you claim that the killer transmuted to hide behind not mentioned in any of the reports filed by Lieutenant Colonel Brookes?”

 

“Because the killer returned the wall to its original state before leaving the scene,” Edward stated. “He was interrupted in his attack on General Armstrong, but we have a theory that he returned to the scene after General Armstrong was taken to the hospital and slipped past the guards that were stationed at the mouth of the alley long enough to transmute the wall back and retrieve the voice recorder he used as the lure.”

 

“Your proof of this claim?” Widdon demanded.

 

Edward looked over at Hotch, since it was Morgan who had interviewed the two guards. “Mr. Hotchner?” The generals returned their attention to the agent as well.

 

“There is the chance that the two guards assigned to watch the alley-way where General Armstrong was attacked were distracted by the attacker so their attention would be diverted to investigating the suspicious noise, granting the unknown suspect a small window of opportunity to gather any evidence, such as the voice recorder, they may have left behind in their haste,” Hotch told them. “Lieutenant Colonel Brookes, a member of my team and a member of Lieutenant Colonel Elric’s team interviewed the soldiers and determined neither man did anything that required punishment for their actions,” Hotch added.

 

Ed smirked internally. Widdon and Combes had looked mad that the suspect had managed to slip past two guards – whether it was because it meant they hadn’t seen Mustang or because the attacker had grabbed evidence that could have proven Mustang’s supposed guilt, Ed didn’t know – and Ed wouldn’t have put it passed them to find some way of uncovering who the soldiers were and punishing them themselves.

 

“What happened with the guards?” Grumman asked.

 

“While they both stood guard, they both heard a noise and observed a large shadow in the mouth of a neighbouring alleyway. Deeming it too large to belong to a stray cat or dog, one of the guards left their post to investigate, suspecting the criminal had returned to the scene of the crime. While he was away from their post, the second guard watched both alleyways. Since the attacker was still at large and had been targeting military members, the guard left at the entrance of the alleyway feared for his companion’s safety and watched the second alley-way more closely than the one he was assigned to guard in case he needed to go and help his partner. After only a few minutes, his partner emerged from the second alley-way unscathed and reported that he couldn’t find anything. They both checked the crime scene and didn’t notice anything amiss so didn’t bother reporting the disturbance. The guard that had remained told his interviewers that he didn’t hear or see anything in the alley-way to cause any kind of suspicion.” Hotch reported to Grumman, who nodded.

 

“Given the circumstances, I doubt you would have found anyone who wouldn’t have feared for their partner’s safety if they had headed into an alley to investigate a suspicious noise and shadow. I agree with Lieutenant Colonel Brookes’ decision that neither man deserved punishment.” Grumman said. His words made it clear that if they were punished, Grumman would not be impressed. “Was there anything else in your report, Mr. Hotchner?” Grumman asked.

 

“No, Führer Grumman. We may have more information later once my team completes the interviews we have scheduled today, and we are hoping to have the lab results back by the end of today or sometime tomorrow if everything proceeds at the pace the lab is hoping for.”

 

“Very well. Thank you for your time today, Mr. Hotchner. I assume that if your team uncovers anything today, it will be passed along to Lieutenant Colonel Brookes and Lieutenant Colonel Elric, as well as myself, as per our agreement?” Grumman asked and Hotch nodded. “Excellent. Captain Hawkeye will escort you back out of the room.” Grumman nodded to Hawkeye, who immediately moved to stand next to Hotch. “Have a good day, Mr. Hotchner,” Grumman said, inclining his head.

 

“You as well, Your Excellency,” Hotch said, inclining his head respectfully as Hawkeye left her place behind Ed and moved to stand beside him. “Generals, thank you for your attention.” He nodded at them before following Hawkeye out of the room. The fact that Hawkeye had barely closed the door before opening it again and entering the room to take up her position behind Ed told the blonde alchemist that Hotch had chosen to simply wait for the meeting to be over before accompanying the two of them back to Mustang’s office.

 

“Lieutenant Colonel Elric, did you have anything further to add?” Grumman asked.

 

“Only that the lack of transmutation marks led us to the conclusion that whoever killed Henley used other means to get her into that alley at that time of night. The only thing we could think of is if they offered her something to help her against the accusations we were trying to prove,” Ed repeated his earlier statement, but it was worth it to see the way Widdon and Combes spluttered at his description of Henley.

 

“If General Henley was as you say, exceptionally paranoid, she would never have entered the alley with yourself, Brigadier General Mustang nor any of your known associates,” Brathwaite said contemplatively. Ed nodded in agreement and he saw Hawkeye give a sharp nod of her own.

 

“It doesn’t mean that Mustang didn’t hire someone to lure Henley into that alley before he took her out himself! He spent so much time to try and prove she was guilty of something she wasn’t and he knew he’d never be able to arrest her! It made him desperate,” Combes accused blusteringly.

 

Ed thought he heard the slightest amount of desperation in his own voice. Smythe looked like he was struggling to hold onto his belief in Widdon and Combes. Sayer, Brathwaite and Jones all raised a brow at him. Ed glanced at Grumman before looking back at Hawkeye, who must’ve read his mind and known what he was silently asking her as she gave him a nod.

 

“No one but Mustang’s team and the Führer knew this, but Mustang was a week away from arresting Henley before her death. We just needed a couple of final reports to come in before he could lay the charges on her,” Ed told them and watched with a slight amount of pleasure as Widdon and Combes’ struggled to try and argue against that. This information had Sayer, Brathwaite and Jones sit back contemplatively as they studied Ed silently.

 

“It’s true. I have the case files and evidence reports they’d gathered, including the couple of reports they had been waiting for which Brigadier General Henley was killed. If you wish, I can make them available to you for you to read at your leisure,” Grumman backed Ed’s claim up, earning a silent thank you from the blond alchemist.

 

“Why would Mustang murder someone he was a week away from arresting after spending months investigating them? Surely it makes far more sense for him to have killed Henley during a time when the investigation looked like it wouldn’t pan out in his favour? There must’ve been a period in those months like that?” Jones looked at Ed when he asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Before his promotion and after the first classified mission Mustang and I undertook for the Führer, there were three weeks where all we seemed to be doing was hitting dead ends. We obviously managed to find a lead that gave the case new life but, yeah, there was a period there where it looked like she might get away with her crimes,” Ed told him, ignoring everyone else at the table. That had been a tense three weeks. Ed hadn’t been sure who would snap first during that time; him or Mustang.

 

“That’s when I would’ve expected Henley’s murder at the hands of Mustang, not a week out from her arrest,” Jones said. Ed could see the moment when Widdon and Combes realized what Jones was implying. “I’ll admit that when I heard that Mustang was the suspect and then arrested, I couldn’t believe it because I’ve met Mustang before on several occasions. I wouldn’t have thought he would be the one behind all of this. I’ll be the first to admit that I believe Lieutenant Colonel Elric’s claims that Mustang is being framed and this information about General Henley further solidifies my belief,” Jones said and Ed was shocked. A glance at the others at the table showed Ed that he wasn’t the only one who was shocked, even Grumman, who was looking mildly surprised at Jones’ unabashed statement.

 

“You’re biased! You can’t be trusted to make the right decision if you’re so blatantly biased!” Combes decreed. “I demand General Jones be removed from this meeting!” Combes glared at Grumman, who didn’t even twitch under his gaze.

 

“If I order Major-General Jones’ removal from this gathering, I would also have to order yours, General Widdon’s and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s removal as well for the exact same reason. The three of you are biased and outspoken in your bias,” Grumman told Combes matter-of-factly. “Do you wish for me to make that order?” He asked, placing his elbows on the table in front of him and clasping his hands together, looking at Combes with a raised, questioning brow.

 

“No, Sir. That won’t be necessary,” Widdon managed to say without much of a growl as Combes glared murderously at Grumman.

 

“Very well. Let’s finish this meeting up than, shall we? I’m sure everyone would appreciate it if we could make a decision and move on with our days,” Grumman said, leaning back slightly. “We’ve heard from Mr. Hotchner about the progress he and his team have made in their investigation. I will not give my opinion on this matter, for reasons that should be obvious, so I say we call an old-fashioned vote. We know what Generals Widdon and Combes want so the question now is what do you all believe? Should I rescind my promise to Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and his team, as well as the defense and their consultants, for the reason Generals Combes and Widdon gave us at the start of this meeting or do you believe that the two teams in question should be allowed the three remaining days in their deadline?” Grumman asked, making eye contact with every person in the room.

 

“General Combes and I wish for this farce to be brought to an end and for the trial against former Brigadier-General Mustang to begin so a dangerous criminal can be permanently removed from the streets,” Widdon said, Combes nodding very enthusiastically next to him.

 

“I think Combes and Widdon are dicks and we should be allowed the time we were promised,” Ed told them straight-faced. Hawkeye brushed his shoulder in warning again.

 

“I think Generals Widdon and Combes are correct,” Smythe said and Ed rolled his eyes. The aforementioned general didn’t even look like he knew what to think. Judging from the flat looks Smythe got from a couple of the other generals, Ed wasn’t alone in his assumption.

 

“I think,” Jones said, pausing to contemplate for a moment, “the same thing I thought when Generals Widdon and Combes told us the reason they requested this meeting. Fuhrer Grumman should not push this trial forward,” Jones said, nodding once.

 

“Big surprise,” Combes muttered where he sat slouched in his chair. Ed made sure he saw his eye-roll.

 

“Given that the main reason for Generals Widdon and Combes’ argument is that there have been no leads garnered from this separate investigation and what Mr. Hotchner has told us has proven them wrong, I believe Fuhrer Grumman’s deadline should be left. They should get the week they were promised,” Brathwaite said. The last vote now came down to whatever General Sayer said and Ed was in an uncomfortable position of where he literally didn’t know what her decision would be.

 

“I believe that if word got out to the public that Fuhrer Grumman went back a promise he’d made because two generals decided the separate investigation would yield no results, we would have a massive protest on our hands. Despite whether the public believes former Brigadier-General Mustang to be guilty or not is beside the point. Part of Fuhrer Grumman’s promise to the public was complete transparency and honesty. If they find out he didn’t keep his word on something as simple as this, all trust in the military gained by the public would be lost immediately,” Sayer told them, face as impassive as Hawkeye’s. “I don’t think it’s worth losing the public’s trust in us just because the two of you,” a slight reprimanding glare at Widdon and Combes, “can’t wait three days for the original deadline to pass. My vote is for Fuhrer Grumman’s original ruling to stand,” Sayer told them and Ed let out the breath he’d been holding.

 

“With four votes against the proposal and three for it, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, his team and the defense will be allowed the three days remaining in the promised deadline,” Grumman told them and Ed had to duck his head to stop his smirk being immediately visible. “Unless there is anything else to be discussed, this meeting will be concluded,” Grumman said, looking around at everyone.

 

Brathwaite, Sayer and Jones simply shook their heads. Combes and Widdon were nearly vibrating in their chairs with anger and humiliation and Combes looked like he was actually trying to chew his tongue off so that he wouldn’t lash out at the rest of them. The fact that Widdon had a hand wrapped around Combes’ forearm in a restraining manner probably helped the mustached man manage his anger. Smythe gave Grumman a small shake of his head when the Fuhrer’s eyes found his. Finally, Grumman’s gaze landed on Ed and the blonde grinned at him.

 

“Nope, I’m good. Can we go?” Ed asked, taking no small pleasure in the glares he garnered from Widdon and Combes. Grumman gave him a shadow of a wink before nodding.

 

“Yes, I believe we’re done here. Thank you very much, generals, for taking the time out of your busy days. You’re dismissed,” Grumman said, standing and buttoning his jacket as he did so. The rest of the generals stood up – Combes being dragged up by Widdon – and they each saluted Grumman before nodding to each other, Ed and Hawkeye.

 

Ed did the proper military thing and saluted the generals back, with the obvious exception of Combes and Widdon. He ignored both of them and was very bemused that Smythe didn’t so much as look at him as he scurried out of the room. Widdon and Combes refused to look at him as they stormed out of the room. Sayer, Brathwaite and Jones left after those two in a much more civilised manner which left Grumman, Hawkeye and Ed in the room by themselves.

 

“Good luck with the rest of your investigation, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric. Make the most of those three days,” Grumman said as he joined the two of them near the door.

 

“Yes, Sir,” Ed said. “Thank you,” he added because he has manners, thank you very much.

 

“I didn’t do much so I think your thanks should be given to the generals who lent you their support,” Grumman told him and Ed nodded. He probably would’ve thanked Sayer, Jones and Brathwaite if he saw them in the near future anyway so it wasn’t really a hardship to agree. Grumman turned to his granddaughter. “Where did you stay last night? I’ve heard about your orders to go nowhere without at least one other trusted person. I had meant to extend my invitation for you to stay with myself and your grandmother but it unfortunately slipped my mind after our dinner,” Grumman looked very apologetic about that but Hawkeye gave him a bright smile.

 

“It’s okay, Grandfather. Rebecca offered me her spare room when we ran into each other the day after I joined you and Grandmother for dinner. Unfortunately, I can’t keep Black Hayate at her apartment as it’s a no-pets allowed building but I’ve been able to find someone willing to accompany me home and join me on his afternoon walks. I believe Alphonse has agreed to join me for this afternoon’s walk, as long as he is back from his interview in time,” Hawkeye assured him with a pleasant smile. Grumman looked far more relaxed with the information.

 

“Excellent. As long as you stay safe.” Grumman squeezed her upper arm affectionately, allowing the small moment before they resumed their professional fronts. “Have a good day, Captain Hawkeye, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Grumman said as the two of them saluted him, though Ed’s wasn’t as quick or sharp as Hawkeye’s.

 

“You too, Fuhrer Grumman,” Hawkeye said when Grumman nodded their salutes away. The Fuhrer left the room first, leaving Ed and Hawkeye to follow him out and close the door. Grumman nodded to Hotch as he walked past the BAU team leader before he entered his office, leaving Ed, Hawkeye and Hotch in the waiting area with Samantha, though the Fuhrer’s secretary was quick to follow her boss into his office, no doubt with messages that had accumulated in the couple of hours the Fuhrer had spent with them.

 

“Let’s head back to the office before some dickhead general decides to call another dumbass meeting,” Ed said, hurrying for the doors. Neither made a noise but he could feel Hawkeye and Hotch’s amusement as his haste but he elected to ignore it.

 

“What happened after I left? I assume we still have the remaining days promised us?” Hotch asked once they were in the corridor leading away from the Fuhrer’s office.

 

“Yes. Major-General Sayer made a very compelling argument to justify allowing us the three remaining days of investigation,” Hawkeye told him. “She pointed out that the public would not be very pleased to hear that several members of the higher-ranked officers twisted the Fuhrer’s arm – so to speak – into breaking his word. That was one of his promises when he accepted the title of Fuhrer; the public would be made aware of absolutely everything the military did and there would be no more tolerance for soldiers using their ranks to bend the law,” Hawkeye told him and Hotch had to admit he was impressed.

 

“That was a wise course of action,” Hotch said. “It seems that there are at least three members of that council who aren’t on the same level as Generals Widdon and Combes,” Hotch said, rather carefully, fully aware the generals may not be as out of earshot as they assumed.

 

“Yeah, I was surprised they weren’t all like Widdon and Combes, you know?” Ed said as he led them through the base.

 

“You mean, rude and arrogant?” Hotch asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder.

 

“I was gonna say ‘gives you the nearly irresistible urge to punch them in the face’ but, sure; rude and arrogant works just as well,” Ed told him and Hotch knew better than to ask if the blonde alchemist was serious. Hawkeye didn’t reprimand him so Hotch decided he’d leave it alone as well. “What time is it, anyway?” Ed asked suddenly.

 

“It’s lunch-time, Sir,” Hawkeye told him. Ed made a displeased grimace at the formal address but Hawkeye never called him ‘Ed’ or ‘Edward’ unless they were in Mustang’s office or off-duty. He’d given up years ago trying to get her to stop.

 

“Might as well grab food for everyone still in the office while we’re near the mess,” Ed decided, turning abruptly to head for the mess hall. Hotch and Hawkeye didn’t bother to argue. Both knew, after all, what their chances of survival were if they tried to get in between a hungry Edward and food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always wanted and appreciated!


	16. Chapter 16

Al was admittedly – and rightfully – worried about his brother attending the general’s meeting this morning, even though Hawkeye had promised to keep Ed in line. Part of him knew that Edward’s genius didn’t only extend to alchemy, fighting and other science subjects, which meant he knew how much was too much but Al had plenty of examples of when Ed’s genius had failed him in diplomatic situations like this.

 

Their morning had started pleasant enough, which meant Edward was in a relatively good mood which gave Al hope that it meant his temper wouldn’t be as quick to flare as it used to before Promised Day. Al briefly wondered how JJ and her team were going at the moment. He doubted that, despite them leaving to start their day before anyone else, they were back in the office now. He’d been a little surprised that the four of them hadn’t left earlier than their 8:00am start but he then realised the later start would give the radio hosts time to do their morning reports as well and most of the journalists would already be in their offices, getting organised for the day.

 

Hawkeye had been nice enough to call the morgue for Alphonse and the two teams going with him and request a meeting with each doctor. Hawkeye had told the secretary she was talking to that each team would be willing to work with the doctor’s schedules but they’d prefer to meet with them today before agreeing to a call back within the hour. By the time the morgue had called back, JJ, Prentiss, Fuery and Falman had left to interview the journalists and radio hosts. Hawkeye had accepted the call and relayed the times to the six people awaiting the news. Doctor Cole had agreed to a meeting during his lunch break, between 12pm and 1pm, while Knox had begrudgingly agreed to an interview at 1pm.

 

Since the morgue was an hour’s walk away, Hawkeye had requisitioned them a car. While Hawkeye was busy with the phone, Ed had been diligently working on his allotted paperwork. Alphonse had admitted to being impressed with how committed Ed was to completing the paperwork every morning the previous night when the two of them had made it back to Gracia’s house to sleep in their beds for the first time since the night they were told Mustang was arrested. He was decidedly less impressed when his older brother had informed him that he was getting all of the paperwork done so that he could show Mustang that he was just lazy.

 

“Mr. Elric?” Alphonse jumped slightly when a slightly nervous but familiar looking soldier called his name. Al blinked for a moment and realised he’d managed to not only walk to the military car park but successfully lead everyone else there, all the while lost in his thoughts.

 

“Sorry, lost in my thoughts there. Please call me Alphonse. How are you, Sergeant Browning?” Al asked once he managed to place a name to the face. Browning looked a little surprised Al recognised him.

 

“I’m well, Alphonse. I hope you are the same?” Browning looked a little uncomfortable with using his first name but Al didn’t say anything about it.

 

“As well as can be expected right now. Thank you for asking though,” Al smiled before remembering there were other people near him. “Oh, Sergeant Browning, please allow me to introduce David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Doctor Spencer Reid, Lieutenant Jean Havoc and Lieutenant Maria Ross,” Al pointed them out as he said their names.

 

“It’s good to see you again, Lieutenant Ross, Mr. Rossi, and it’s a pleasure to meet the rest of you,” Browning said, saluting the two Lieutenants. Both of them were quick to wave him out of the salute.

 

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Sergeant Browning. I assume you’re our driver today?” Reid asked pleasantly and Browning nodded.

 

“Yes, Sir. From what Captain Hawkeye said, you’re heading to the morgue, yes?” He asked and Al nodded. “Okay. I’m ready to leave whenever you are,” Browning said, gesturing to the waiting car.

 

Al was the first to move to the car, which seemed to be the signal to get everyone moving and soon enough, they were all crammed into the car and Sergeant Browning was pulling out of the parking lot. Lieutenant Ross had been given the front seat, which gave everyone else a bit of extra room in the back. Reid, Alphonse and Havoc took up one bench seat while Morgan and Rossi claimed the other for themselves. There wasn’t much chatter in the car as Browning maneuvered through the midday traffic expertly.

 

They’d all piled out of the car once they'd arrived at the morgue and Al had asked Browning if he wouldn’t mind waiting for them for a couple of hours. The sergeant had sworn up and down that it was no hassle until Al believed him, at which time Alphonse had thanked him and followed the others into the front entrance of the morgue.

 

“Good afternoon. How may I assist you?” The greeting came from an older, petite woman with a short, severe haircut and matching air about her. Alphonse was suddenly glad Ed wasn’t there with them because he didn’t think this woman would appreciate any of Ed’s attitude.

 

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” Ross was the one to greet the lady. “We have appointments to see Doctor Johnathon Cole and Doctor Robert Knox,” she informed her. The woman nodded before checking her appointment book.

 

“Doctor Cole is running a little behind schedule but has promised to call me once he is finished. Doctor Knox is on time but has asked me to remind you that your meeting with him is at 1pm and not a moment sooner,” the secretary told them primly. Maria simply nodded.

 

“Thank you very much, ma’am. Would it be alright for us to wait in here until Doctor Cole is available or our agreed meeting time with Doctor Knox?” Maria asked politely. The woman merely nodded, though Al thought he saw a slightly approving look at Maria for asking rather than assuming, and the six of them sat in the chairs that made up the waiting area. 

* * *

 

The ringing of a phone startled almost all of them. They’d engaged in some light small talk but other than that, there hadn’t been much noise in the waiting area. The secretary’s pen scribbling on paper had eventually became background noise, just as the traffic outside had done. They couldn’t really talk about much not related to the case since talking about the BAU members homes, childhoods or work could be overheard and raise some questions. Alphonse shared a few stories from his childhood, before his mother had passed and Maria had regaled them with the more interesting moments of hers and Brosh’s time on guard duty for the Elric brothers. Then the phone had rung during a lull in between stories.

 

“I’ll escort them up now, Doctor Cole. Thank you for calling.” The secretary ended the call and all six immediately stood as the woman came out from behind her desk and beckoned them to follow her. Al was a little surprised that the woman was far taller than Pinako, having somehow managed to convince himself they’d be as alike in height as they were in demeanour. “Please follow me,” she said, a little unnecessarily but they did as she asked silently.

 

She led them past several doors before coming to a stop in front of one clearly labelled ‘Doctor Johnathon Cole’. A voice called for them to enter when she knocked so she opened the door and allowed them inside, slipping into the room with them. Al took the opportunity to look around and was surprised at how clean and empty the room was. There was only a painting on the wall, the doctor’s desk and office chair, two extra chairs in front of said desk, a small filing cabinet and three shelves filled with medical texts, tools, models and personal items, such as photographs and small trinkets.

 

“Ah, thank you, Jane,” the man behind the desk said with a pleasant smile. Doctor Cole was of average size, if a bit taller than the average male, looked to be in his mid or late-30’s, lightly tanned skin, black hair cut in similar style to Al’s own and black-rimmed glasses. “I apologise for my tardiness but we had some problems transporting a body which led to my autopsy running over the estimated time,” Cole told them as he rounded his desk to shake their hands as the group introduced themselves.

 

“Alphonse, Doctor Reid and Lieutenant Ross won’t be staying for this interview. They have an appointment with Doctor Knox in a few minutes,” Rossi said after introductions were made. Cole looked surprised but nodded cheerfully enough.

 

“I admit, I had wondered why there were so many people here for a simple interview,” Cole told them jovially. “Jane, why don’t you show those three to Doctor Knox’s office now and we can get this interview underway?” Cole suggested and Jane merely nodded.

 

“Of course, Doctor Cole. If you’ll follow me?” Jane said blandly to the three who were meeting with Knox, holding the door for them to walk through.

 

Alphonse, Reid and Maria followed Jane obediently through the hallway before turning a corner and coming to a halt. Before any of the trio could say anything, Jane had spun briskly to face them.

 

“Now, there is still ten minutes until your appointment with Doctor Knox. I’m sure you already know that he is not a man who you want to irritate by being late or early therefore I suggest you sit here until your appointment time,” Jane told them and Al nodded immediately in agreement.

 

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you for escorting us,” Al said, with a respectful bow. Jane nodded approvingly.

 

“You’re welcome, young man,” Jane said, not unkindly, before leaving them to wait in silence until they could knock on Knox’s door without getting grouched at more than usual. 

* * *

Doctor Cole had moved to sit back at his desk, waving a hand for them to make use of the chairs in front of the desk. There was a brief moment where all three hesitated before Havoc told them he’d prefer to stand, solving the problem of which two would be sitting. Morgan and Rossi sat and pulled out their notepads before looking up at the doctor, ready to ask their questions.

 

“Thank you for agreeing to take the time to speak to us, Doctor Cole,” Rossi started off with. “We just have some questions regarding the autopsies you performed on the five victims of the recent serial killer,” Cole nodded.

 

“Of course. Jane was informed by the woman who called this morning and she passed along the message. How can I help?” Cole asked, lacing his fingers together and sitting up straighter.

 

“First of all, I’d like to know whether you knew former Brigadier-General Mustang personally?” Morgan asked, stealing the question from Rossi’s mouth.

 

“Yes. Or rather, I’ve met the man once or twice before his arrest,” Cole told them.

 

“What were your thoughts about him?” Rossi asked and Cole seemed to think about it for a few moments before answering.

 

“If I’m being honest, I didn’t form much of an opinion on him. Like I said, I’ve met him twice before, probably spending a total of half an hour in his presence, and both times were simply to pass along the results of an autopsy. I wouldn’t have pegged him to be someone who killed someone for something as small as not liking him but how well can you know someone you haven’t spent longer than 30 minutes with?” Cole said, spreading his hands in a ‘what can I say’ gesture.

 

“Alright,” Rossi said as Morgan and he wrote notes down. Rossi and Morgan both knew they’d likely interpret things in a different way to the other, hence the necessity of them both taking notes. “When you saw the first victim, before you’d performed any tests, what was your thoughts on his cause of death?” Rossi asked.

 

“Well, the running theory on Captain Bryce’s death was that he’d knocked himself out while in the alley to enjoy a cigarette. His lit cigarette was thought to have ignited the alcohol he’d spilt on himself during the night and he wasn’t able to call for help or help himself because he was unconscious. It was believed that it was simply an unfortunate accident. Of course, we never connected his death to Major Pardi until Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes suggested I go over my autopsy findings when Colonel Summers was discovered,” Cole explained. Morgan and Rossi weren’t surprised with the information. It had been noted that the deaths weren’t connected until Summers was found.

 

“Did anything in your report on Bryce change when you realised the deaths were connected?” Morgan asked and Cole nodded.

 

“I had noted that the headwound was likely made by the metal railing attached to the set of steps Bryce was discovered near. When I looked closer at his skull injury after the connection was made, I discovered it was identical to the ones on Pardi and Summers’ skulls. When the bar was found where Lieutenant-General Armstrong had been attacked, I borrowed it from the crime lab to test it and see if the wound it created on a fake skull would match the wounds left on the five victims and discovered it did.” Cole explained. “I also noted that the fake skull’s wound was more devastating than the wound on any victim. Their head injuries would’ve rendered them unconscious, not killed them outright but the injury I made to the fake skull would’ve likely killed the person,” Cole told them and Rossi frowned. He hadn’t read that anywhere.

 

“I’m sorry but I’m not sure I understand the significance of that?” Havoc interrupted, sounding apologetic but morbidly curious.

 

“Oh, I believe it to mean that the person who inflicted the head wounds on the victims wasn’t as physically strong as me,” Cole told him with a shrug. “This test only happened yesterday so the crime lab techs likely haven’t been able to run the sorts of tests that confirm that though.” Rossi’s furrowed brow smoothed out as he realised that was why he hadn’t read anything about this test. He had to admit; he hadn’t expected Amestris to be advanced enough to be doing these sorts of tests. He wondered if Ed had had anything to do with it.

 

“What was your first thought when you heard that former Brigadier-General Mustang was suspected of killing the victims with fire alchemy?” Morgan asked, bringing them back to the interview.

 

“To be honest, I didn’t think there was any truth to it,” Cole admitted. “I mean, I’ve never dealt with the remains of a fire alchemy victim but I’ve heard the rumours of what people look like when they fall victim to it and there’s nowhere in Amestris where people haven’t heard about the Flame Alchemist’s immense power. So, when I heard he was suspected, I didn’t think it was him because I had thought that if they truly were his victims, there’d be no need for a coroner,” Cole informed them honestly.

 

“Do you believe he’s guilty?” Morgan couldn’t help but ask. Cole pursed his lips in thought.

 

“I don’t know,” Cole said. “I can only hope that the investigators have managed to find evidence at the scenes that suggest he is because I know there wasn’t anything on the bodies that would help. Though, having said that, I also know the crime lab hasn’t finished all of its tests so maybe there is something on the bodies that lead back to the killer’s identity.” Cole shrugged.

 

“How often do you perform an autopsy on a burn victim?” Rossi asked and Cole sighed.

 

“Honestly? Before these five, I think I’ve maybe dealt with a dozen or so bodies that have been burnt during the entirety of my career. I wasn’t one of the doctors who went to the front lines of the Ishvalen Civil War to treat victims so I never saw any of Mustang’s work there. When someone is killed by fire in Amestris, it’s normally accidental. A candle sets a curtain on fire, resulting in a house burning to the ground with the occupants inside. Someone travelling too fast in their car hits a tree and the fuel ignites before they can get out. That sort of thing. Those were the kind of circumstances that led to me performing autopsies on burned bodies,” Cole told them and the men nodded. They hadn’t expected setting people on fire would be a common occurrence for Amestris.

 

“Is there anything about these bodies that gave you an inclination of how they were set alight?” Rossi asked.

 

“Well, it’s my belief that some sort of accelerant was used. Since they weren’t inside a wooden building, the only fuel the fire had was oxygen and the body itself. Humans really aren’t that flammable since we’re composed mainly of water so there would’ve had to have been an extra fuel source to feed the flames. Like I said before, I would’ve thought the use of flame alchemy would’ve resulted in the bodies being burned to ash to prevent identification and the like but I can’t be positive until the results from the tests come back from the crime lab,” Cole reminded them. “If I’m right than I would say that the victims were knocked unconscious, had the accelerant poured over them and a lighter or match was used to light the accelerant,” Cole told them, his face pinching like he’d had a weird thought before smoothing out once more.

 

“What did you just think?” Morgan asked, latching on to that reaction. Cole seemed surprised they’d noticed but he answered.

 

“Well, I’m no investigator but it’s weird – to me at least – that former Brigadier-General would use an accelerant in the first place. He is the Flame Alchemist and I’m sure most of the rumours about how powerful he is aren’t wrong about him,” Cole told them.

 

“He could have used the accelerant to throw suspicion off himself,” Rossi pointed out, playing devil’s advocate for the moment.

 

“That’s true but,” Cole hesitated for a moment but Rossi encouraged him to continue, “why would he? If I were him, I would’ve used a more conventional means as a murder weapon. A gun or knife that was untraceable or something. Most people – when they kill someone and set them alight – do so to cover their tracks and rid the body of evidence. If he was trying to throw suspicion off himself and create a red herring for the investigators by setting the bodies alight, it failed spectacularly on him,” Cole mused out loud before blinking and sitting up a little straighter. “I apologise. I’m not an investigator so please excuse my rambling,” Cole apologised.

 

“It’s alright. It’s nice to hear theories from people who aren’t the investigating officer. Sometimes, they can be more helpful than you realise,” Morgan told him, giving the doctor a smile that he returned. “Is there anything else you didn’t include in your report that you can tell us? Any thoughts or gut feelings you had when you were performing the autopsy?” Morgan asked. Cole looked mildly surprised at the question and Morgan figured it was likely because it wasn’t a commonly asked question during an investigation.

 

“No, I don’t think so. All the autopsies were normal, as far as those kinds of autopsies go. Aside from the defensive wounds to Generals Henley and Andrews, all of the autopsies were near identical to each other. Each victim, without exception, had carbon monoxide in their blood thus my ruling for their causes of death; shock brought on by being burned alive. I don’t think there’s much else to tell you about them. They were standard autopsies for victims of fire,” Cole told them. Rossi and Morgan exchanged glances, each silently asking the other if they had any more questions but neither did so they stood.

 

“Thank you very much for your time, Doctor Cole. I believe we have asked everything we needed to for now,” Rossi said, extending his hand to the doctor who had just stood.

 

“It was no problems. Please, let me know if you wish to speak to me in the future. I’ll make myself available again, if needed,” Cole told them, shaking Morgan’s hand now.

 

“Thank you. We’ll be sure to do so,” Rossi said as Havoc joined them so he could shake the doctor’s hand as well.

 

“Will you be alright finding your way back to the waiting area or would you like me to call Jane?” Cole asked, hand hovering over his desk phone but Morgan shook his head.

 

“Thank you but there’s no need. I remember the way,” he assured Cole, who merely nodded.

 

“Very well. Have a good day, gentlemen,” Cole said as he sat back down.

 

“You as well, Doctor,” Rossi said as Havoc opened the door, closing it when the three of them were over the threshold. They walked a few feet away from the door, Rossi and Havoc content to let Morgan lead the way, before any of them spoke.

 

“Well, that went a lot better than I thought. It’s nice to meet someone during this case that isn’t letting the newspapers or their personal feelings rule their thoughts on it,” Morgan said, causing Havoc to snort in agreement.

 

“Agreed. I can only hope that Al’s interview is going as well as an interview with Knox could ever go,” Havoc said, looking behind him as if he could see the missing half of their group through the walls.

 

“Is Knox really that bad?” Rossi asked as they kept walking.

 

“Knox is brash, abrasive, barely civil to those he actually likes and borderline – if not outright – rude to those he doesn’t like. He’s not someone who tolerates fools easily. I’ve never had the pleasure of interacting with him one on one but I’ve been with the bossman or Chief when they’ve spoken with him and you would honestly believe that Knox didn’t like them but was being civil because of who they were. Though Al was right yesterday. Knox seems a little less brusque with Ed for some reason,” Havoc told them. “I’m sure Al will be fine with him, though. Not many people are able to resist that kid’s pleading and he knows it.” Havoc grinned when Morgan and Rossi chuckled.

 

“We noticed. I think it’s an Elric trait,” Morgan said, thinking of how easily the kid was able to win over people he’d only just met, so long as those people hadn’t been rude to start with.

 

“You’re probably right,” Havoc told him as Morgan opened the door to the waiting area. Jane simply gave them a look before turning back to her work.

 

“Your colleagues aren’t back yet. You’re welcome to wait here for them,” she told them and Morgan thanked her as the three of them settled in the chairs. Now all they had to do was wait for the other three. 

* * *

 

Al had to admit that he was a little nervous as he sat with Reid and Maria outside of Doctor Knox’s office. They still had a couple of minutes until it was time to knock on the door but no one was brave enough to see if being a couple of minutes early would irritate the older man. Al hadn’t even noticed he was bouncing his leg as a way to work off his nervous energy until Maria had placed a hand on his knee, effectively stopping his anxious movements.

 

“Is he really that scary?” Reid asked from Al’s other side. Al snorted and shook his head.

 

“He’s not scary in the sense you’re probably thinking,” Al told Reid. “It’s just that if you somehow manage to annoy or offend him, you’ll never get answers from him. I’ve never had to speak or interact with him without Brigadier-General Mustang or Ed with me, with the exception of when he brought Mei to our first confrontation with Father, so I don’t know what to really expect from him, mood-wise,” Al told them both.

 

“Mei?” Reid asked and Al nodded.

 

“She’s a Xingese princess and powerful alkahestrist. We met her before Promised Day and she helped us fight against the homunculi on and before Promised Day. She helped me save Ed when Father was about to kill him,” Al told them. Reid frowned before something clicked for him.

 

“She helped you sacrifice yourself, didn’t she? Using her alkahestry or whatever,” Reid asked and Al nodded.

 

“Yeah. Brother’s automail arm had been destroyed and his other arm was impaled awkwardly on some debris. He couldn’t get free and Father was about to kill him. I didn’t even think about it. I had Mei reverse an array Ed used to save my life the night both of us were caught in a rebound. He’d sacrificed his right arm for me so I gave it back by undoing the array. It worked. Brother got his arm back and was able to defeat Father. He obviously then got me back so it all worked out,” Al assured Reid, who was looking distressed at what Al was telling him.

 

“What’s alkahestry?” Reid asked after a moment, trying to focus on the unknown rather than letting himself give in to the urge to question Al further on the sacrifice thing.

 

“Alkahestry is similar to alchemy,” Al started explaining. “It’s used primarily in Xing. The way Mei explained it is that it uses something called the Dragon’s Pulse – or chi – whereas alchemy is believed to draw its power from the energy produced by the tectonic plates. While alchemy is superior to alkahestry in its scientific manipulation of matter for practical uses, alkahestry is far more superior in its healing arts. Since chi flows through everything, including humans, alkahestrists like Mei use it to heal people. She healed Miss Riza during Promised Day and was a big help making sure I stayed alive long enough to get to the hospital. She even stayed until I woke up from my coma to see if I wanted her to speed up my healing with daily alkahestry use,” Al told Reid, a faint pink flush on his cheeks that Reid knew Morgan would’ve teased the young alchemist about. Maria decided to swing the conversation back to the original topic.

 

“You said that Doctor Knox gets along a little better with Edward than Mustang, right?” Al nodded in response to Maria’s question. “How come?” She asked and Al shrugged a shoulder.

 

“I’m not really sure. I know General Mustang met Doctor Knox during the Ishvalen Civil War and they’ve maintained regular contact since then but I’m not sure if that’s because their careers kept them interacting with each other or if it’s because they are friends. Doctor Knox always acts like it’s a hardship helping General Mustang but so does my brother,” Al joked lightly, causing Reid and Maria to chuckle. “But I’ve heard stories about times where General Mustang has done or said something that caused Doctor Knox to be even more uncivil than he normally is towards him,” Al told them.

 

“What about Ed?” Reid asked and Al raised a questioning brow. Reid took the hint. “Why do you think he likes Ed a little more than most people?” Reid elaborated and, again, Al shrugged.

 

“I’m not sure, to be honest. It could be because of who Brother is or his age but I personally think it’s because the first time Doctor Knox met Ed properly, Ed was back-talking General Mustang which then devolved into their usual childish behaviour before either of them noticed Doctor Knox was there,” Al said, laughing at the memory of Mustang’s embarrassed face when Ed retold that story to him later. “I think it also helps that Ed has the habit of speaking his mind, whether he really should or not. Thankfully for him, most people seem to appreciate his bluntness,” Al said, taking a deep steadying breath before standing. Reid and Maria stood with him and, at his nod, Maria knocked primly on Doctor Knox’s door at exactly 1:00pm.

 

“Yes, come in,” a gruff, annoyed voice called and Maria opened the door hastily so as to not keep the office’s occupant waiting.

 

Al’s first look around the office showed that it was as bare and clean as Doctor Cole’s office, even more so what with the lack of personal items in the room. Al could only see a couple of photo frames on the man’s desk and there weren’t many decorative trinkets scattered on the surfaces of the desk or shelves. Al wondered if it was simply because Doctor Knox wasn’t a sentimental man or if he just didn’t have many items with sentimental value. The latter made Al feel a little sad and hope that it wasn’t the case.

 

“Doctor Knox, I’m not sure if you remember me but I’m Lieutenant Maria Ross and these are Alphonse Elric and Doctor Spencer Reid,” Maria introduced herself and the two others with minimal fuss.

 

“Ah, yes. You’re the young lieutenant accused of murdering Hughes. I’m surprised that foolish plan of Mustang’s worked. Honestly, burning a human-shaped pile of meat and relying on me to lie for him,” Knox scoffed before looking properly at Maria. “I’m glad to see you’re still alive, though. Would’ve been a shame to go through all that only to have you wind up on my table.” Maria looked a little startled at his admission. Knox didn’t seem to notice, his eyes sliding over to where Reid and Al stood. “I’m surprised your brother isn’t here with you, Alphonse. Normally you two are joined at the hip. Don’t tell me he’d ended up in hospital again?” Knox asked drily but Al shook his head.

 

“No, Doctor Knox. Brother is attending a meeting called by the generals and Fuhrer Grumman. Since he’s temporarily taken over General Mustang’s duties, he was needed there,” Al told him and Knox seemed satisfied. Or he was annoyed. Al wasn’t actually sure.

 

“I take it you’re one of those consultants the defense hired to try and get Mustang out of this mess he’s found himself in?” Knox asked, finally addressing Reid.

 

“My team and I have been asked to investigate this case and find the real culprit behind these crimes, no matter who they are,” Reid told him and Al thought he saw a spark of approval at Reid’s diplomatic answer. After all, it did show that the BAU were here to see justice served, not to get Mustang out of prison.

 

“That’s enough niceties. I’m busy and have better things to do with my time than sit here and listen to you talk all day. What do you want from me?” Knox asked brusquely and Al answered immediately.

 

“When General Mustang was arrested for these murders, one of the first things I did was go through case files involving General Mustang’s flame alchemy and people who have been killed with it to see if there were any differences between their remains and the remains of the five victims in this case. I noted that you were the coroner who performed the autopsies on most of the victims,” Al explained, perhaps a little too quickly in his haste to not annoy Doctor Knox. “I – we were wondering if you’ve happened to read the autopsy reports Doctor Cole wrote up and what your opinion was?” Al asked and Knox looked like he hadn’t expected that to be the reason for their meeting.

 

“I have read the reports. In fact, I read all of the reports and saw the bodies myself when they were on Doctor Cole’s table,” Knox told them. “I haven’t exactly made it a secret what I thought when I heard Mustang had been arrested for their deaths and for the attack on the Armstrong woman.” Knox huffed a little. “I know Mustang didn’t kill those people. The burns are all wrong, for one thing, and there’s far too much flesh left for another,” Knox informed them.

 

“What do you mean by that?” Reid asked, a little hesitantly.

 

“What I mean, Doctor Reid, is that when Mustang kills someone with his alchemy, there’s not much left of them,” Knox told him bluntly. “I met Mustang during the Ishvalen Civil War. While I normally don’t deal with living patients, I was sent to Ishval to assist our soldiers and any other injured person. I’ve witnessed first-hand what Mustang’s flame alchemy is capable of and trust me when I say it never ends pretty.”

 

“So if they truly were victims of flame alchemy?” Reid pressed slightly.

 

“They would be nothing more than burnt husks,” Knox answered, finishing Reid’s question. “From what I’ve seen of the bodies, my gut tells me accelerant was definitely used but I guess that’s for the lab to tell you lot,” he grumbled.

 

“What do you know of General Mustang’s flame alchemy?” Reid asked curiously and Knox fixed him with a scruitinising look, as though he was searching for an ulterior motive for the question.

 

“Only what I told you. If Mustang chooses to turn it on you, you don’t stand much of a chance of surviving unless he wants you too,” Knox told him, obviously having deemed Reid genuinely curious. “I know he’s got admittedly amazing control over it. He proved that in Ishval as well,” Knox said. “I saw him take down an Ishvalen soldier without injuring the two already injured Ishvalen soldiers standing not two feet away from his target. I know he’s powerful enough to blow a building to tiny chunks with one snap and I’ve heard stories of what he did to one of the homunculi. But Mustang, for all his faults, is not a cruel person. If you die from his alchemy, he makes it so you don’t even know what hits you. If those victims were alive – and I’ll remind you that their head wounds only suggest enough force behind the blow to render them unconscious – when they were set alight, they would have suffered immensely before succumbing to the shock brought on by their injuries,” Knox informed them.

 

“You believe their deaths were the result of shock brought on by trauma?” Reid asked, frowning a little. The autopsy reports merely listed their causes of deaths as being burned alive.

 

“No, they likely died from being burned alive. I just hope they went into shock before too long so they didn’t suffer as much,” Knox said, face softening a little in sympathy for the victims before hardening again. “Is there anything else?” He snapped, not harshly but not kindly either.

 

“Uh, yes,” Reid stuttered slightly, feeling a touch unbalanced at the way Knox could switch emotions so quickly. “Do you think you’ve interacted with General Mustang in recent months to feel comfortable enough to tell me what you think of his mental health? Has there been any kind of event that you know of that could have caused Mustang to-“ Reid paused for a moment to think of the right word.

 

“Go off the deep end and murder five people for no good reason?” Knox finished for him, raising a brow daring him to argue. Reid didn’t. Knox leaned back in his seat as he thought over the questions. “No, to the last question at least. Mustang and I may not be bosom buddies but I would certainly know about anything major happening in his life in the last few months and all I can think of are his missions with Edward for Fuhrer Grumman and his promotion to Brigadier-General,” Knox told Reid. “As for your second question, I believe Mustang to be sound of mind. I’m no psychologist but I know enough to say that while he likely has post-traumatic stress disorder from the Ishvalen Civil War, being forced to commit human transmutation and losing his sight as a result and Promised Day itself.” Knox didn’t notice the look Al was getting from Reid nor how Al was very pointedly _not_ looking at Reid. “Having said that, Mustang has always managed to keep his PTSD in check well enough for it to never be a concern. I don’t believe there is any reason to believe Mustang’s mental health has suffered enough for him to have done this, even if I believed those bodies were killed with his flame alchemy.” Knox’s pointed tone made sure they remembered that he didn’t believe that.

 

“I’m sorry but did you say that General Mustang went _blind_?” Reid asked, confusion written all over his face. “Was it temporary?” Knox looked at Al, who looked very guilty and ashamed before he sighed, annoyed he now had to explain this.

 

“Yes. From what I heard from Mustang, his sight was payment for his forced visit through the Gates of Knowledge. They do at least know what they are, right, Alphonse?” Knox snapped and Al nodded immediately. “At least that’s something,” Knox sighed before continuing. “I don’t know much about why Father needed the sacrifices to have committed human transmutation before they were used; I just know Mustang’s payment was his sight. When Promised Day was over and everyone was in hospital, I visited Mustang, along with a fellow doctor, Doctor Marcoh, who was the leading expert on Philosopher’s Stones and had in his possession an incomplete stone. He offered Mustang the use of the stone to restore his sight. Mustang accepted only once Lieutenant Havoc had been healed of his paralysis,” Knox told them. Al realised then that Reid didn’t have a notepad to write in and went to ask before mentally facepalming because _of course_ he didn’t have one. He didn’t need one with his eidetic memory.

 

“What was your role, if any, during Promised Day?” Reid asked and Knox leaned back a little.

 

“I didn’t have any role on the actual Promised Day however my home was turned into a doctor’s surgery without my say so during the few months before Promised Day,” Knox grouched, still sore about how many people were brought to his home for him to patch up because they couldn’t go to an actual hospital without being arrested or killed. “Any time someone on our side was injured because of their investigation into the corrupted military, Mustang pointed them towards me so I could patch them up without the military ever knowing about it. I spent the Promised Day in my home with my ex-wife and son and waiting out the fighting there.” Reid nodded, mentally filing the information away.

 

“If asked, would you be willing to testify on behalf of the defense as their expert witness?” Reid asked and Knox sighed once more.

 

“I suppose so. Goodness knows Mustang will need all the help he can get to get out of this one,” Knox said grumpily but Al would bet that he really did hear an undercurrent of worry there. “Is that all? I have a 96-year-old waiting on my table downstairs,” Knox asked and Reid nodded as he stood.

 

“Yes, Doctor Knox. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. We’ll let Mr. Lanco know that you’re willing to be an expert witness,” Reid said, extending his hand almost automatically to shake Knox’s. There was a heart-beat where Knox just looked at his hand, making Reid wonder if he’d managed to offend him somehow, before Knox accepted the handshake.

 

“It’s fine. I’m used to pulling Mustang’s fat out of the fire, so to speak,” Knox grumbled.

 

“It was good seeing you again, Doctor Knox. Thank you for your help. Have a good day,” Alphonse said as he stood up next to Reid.

 

“I haven’t managed to say it before but it’s good seeing you out of hospital. Make sure you and your brother stay out of it,” Knox said, levelling Al with a glare that had the youngest Elric nodding in agreement. “I imagine you lot can find your way back to the front desk?” Knox asked, tone suggesting the only acceptable answer would be ‘yes’.

 

“Yes, Sir. Thank you once again. We’ll leave you to your day,” Maria said, opening the door once more. The two geniuses were quick to scramble out of the office. Knox nodded to Maria as she closed the door behind her and received a nod back before the door clicked shut.

 

Al and Reid were already a couple of metres away from the door but Maria was quick to catch up. She watched the two in amusement as they hurried from the room, Al acting like Knox was going to come charging out of his office and start snapping at them for being in the hallway still. Once they were near Cole’s office, Al let out a relieved sigh and his shoulders lost some of the tension he’d been carrying.

 

“That went far better than expected,” he told them, smiling happily before meeting Reid’s eyes. “I know you might have some questions about the whole sacrifice thing but please wait until we get back to the office. There are some thing Brother and I don’t want the public knowing about us,” Al requested, voice soft and slightly melancholy.

 

“Alright, Al. I’m sure the others will want to know about it anyway,” Reid told him and Al looked torn between relief that Reid had agreed to wait and reluctant for everyone to know what he and Ed had to say.

 

It didn’t take them long to reach the waiting area. Maria wouldn’t have bothered memorising their route at all since between Al and Reid they knew where they were going but her military training to always know where her escape routes were had kicked in as soon as Jane had led them to Cole’s office. They weren’t surprised to find Morgan, Havoc and Rossi already waiting on the couches off to the side while Jane sat at her desk, eyes flicking up to look at them before going back to her work.

 

“How’d you guys go with your interview?” Morgan asked, reaching out and ruffling Reid’s hair the moment the young genius was within reach, much to said genius’ displeasure.

 

“It was good. Doctor Knox answered all of our questions,” Reid told them as he fixed his hair, scowling at the grinning Morgan. “How about you?” He asked.

 

“Same for us,” Rossi told him. “Let’s head back to the office and we can tell everyone anything we’ve learned there so we don’t have to repeat ourselves constantly,” Rossi suggested.

 

“Yes, hopefully Brother is finished with his meeting by now,” Al said, looking at the time and realising it was nearing 2:00pm, meaning Ed might have been with the generals and Fuhrer Grumman for four hours if he hasn’t finished.

 

“Finished for Ed’s sake or the generals’?” Morgan asked, smirking slightly as Al laughed.

 

“Both,” he said honestly, causing Morgan, Reid and Havoc to laugh with him and the six of them turned to leave before remembering to say a quick ‘thank you’ to Jane for escorting them to their interviews. Once done, they left the building to find Sergeant Browning still waiting for them and, in no time, they were heading back to Central Command. 

* * *

 

JJ, Prentiss, Fuery and Falman had planned on visiting four newspaper publishers that had caught JJ’s interest for some reason or another and two radio stations that Mustang’s team had suggested they visit as they were the two stations that broadcasted the most information about the killings and Mustang. While it didn’t sound like a lot to keep them busy for most of the day, JJ was quietly hopeful about these interviews producing more leads for them to follow throughout the day.

 

The first publishing house they planned on visiting was one of the biggest newspapers, according to Fuery, called The Amestrian Times. There was one journalist whose name was always attached to the articles, Debora Turner, that JJ was particularly interested in talking to as some of her articles were written with the assumption that Mustang was well and truly guilty. The only thing she didn’t do was outright say he was.

 

Falman had grabbed a military car for them since they weren’t sure how long they’d be in each place and it was less of a hassle for them to just drive themselves so they didn’t have to rely on someone else and they weren’t making some poor military officer wait in the car while they interviewed journalists and radio hosts. Once they arrived at the publishing house, they made their way inside and Falman approached the front desk. There were three women sitting at the desk, all of whom were already busy talking to someone, either in person or on the phone, but Falman seemed happy enough to simply wait. Finally, one of the women who was on the phone finished her conversation and turned to Falman with a polite smile.

 

“May I help you?” She asked and Falman stepped forward, the three others stepping forward with him but staying behind him.

 

“Yes, ma’am. We were hoping to talk with a Debora Turner, if she has a few minutes to spare?” Falman asked politely. The secretary, a ‘Susan’ according to her name tag, nodded and picked up her phone once more.

 

“I’ll just give her office a call and see if she is. May I ask what this is regarding?” Susan asked, fingers ready to dial.

 

“We’d just like to talk with her regarding her recent articles,” Falman told her. Susan nodded once more and dialed the number.

 

“Hello Miss Turner, this is Susan from reception. There’s four people here who wish to speak with you regarding your recent articles, if you have the time,” Susan repeated Falman’s request, pausing for a few moments before speaking again. “Very well, Miss Turner. I’ll let them know.” Susan hung up the phone and turned her attention back the group. “Miss Turner has agreed to see you. She has a twenty-minute window before her first appointment of the day. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you up to her office now,” Susan said, standing neatly and smoothing down her skirt before walking out from behind her desk.

 

The four of them were quick to follow her as she walked up a flight of stairs and through an area that reminded JJ and Prentiss of their bullpen back home. There were at least two dozen desks, grouped in fours, with barely enough room between each group of desks for two people to walk past each other comfortably. The entire floor was busy, with people bustling from desk to desk, phones ringing, papers rustling and other various noises. The side of the room opposite the staircase had three offices built into it while the wall adjacent to the staircase had another four. Susan led them through the bullpen and to the office on the left hand-side of the opposite wall.

 

“Come in,” a woman called once Susan knocked on the door. Susan did as she was permitted, opened the door and let the four of them inside the room. She remained standing next to the door.

 

“Your visitors, Miss Turner,” Susan announced and Turner looked up, giving Susan a smile as her eyes looked over her visitor.

 

“Thank you, Susan,” Turner said. Susan nodded and took the hint to leave, closing the door behind her. JJ took the opportunity their short conversation gave her to observe the female journalist.

 

Turner had her brunette hair pulled up into tight bun that sat on the base of her neck and her black pencil skirt and jacket were pressed and neat. The light blue dress shirt she wore under the jacket complimented her pale skin nicely, bringing out her blue eyes so she looked friendly and approachable. She wore silver jewelry but only a few pieces; her watch, a thin bracelet, a single pair of earrings and dainty chain with a small pendant set with a clear stone. She wore minimal make-up and had a pleasant smile plastered on her face as she reached out a hand towards JJ.

 

“Debora Turner, but I’m sure you’ve already guessed that,” she said, smile twitching a little wider as JJ grasped her hand.

 

“Jennifer Jareau. This is Emily Prentiss,” JJ gestured to Emily, who shook Turner’s hand, “Lieutenant Vato Falman and Warrant Officer Kain Fuery,” JJ introduced the two men, as each man took their turn shaking the journalist’s hand.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I understand you have questions about some of my articles. I’m assuming the articles in question are the ones regarding the recent killings and arrest of former Brigadier-General Mustang?” Turner said, waving a hand for them to take a seat in the available chairs as she sat in her own.

 

JJ and Emily took the offered chairs while the two soldiers took up positions behind them, standing at parade rest. JJ crossed one leg over the other, pulled her notepad filled with her notes gathered from the day before and flipped to a blank page before resting the pad on her knee.

 

“You would be correct, Miss Turner,” JJ said as she looked back up at the journalist and saw an all too familiar gleam in her blue eyes and knew she wouldn’t be the only one asking questions here. “My team has been asked to help General Mustang’s defense lawyer and have been granted permission by Fuhrer Grumman to conduct our own investigation. My primary role in the team is as a media consultant. I’m sure you can understand what that means but all it boils down to is that I liaise between my team, the media and the local law enforcement we’re helping. When we agreed to help General Mustang’s lawyer, I was tasked with reading through the articles written about the murders, General Armstrong’s attack and General Mustang’s arrest and I noted that your articles, particularly the ones written after General Henley’s death, focused heavily on the fact that General Mustang had been questioned as the primary suspect. Once General Mustang was arrested, you were the first reporter to announce the news. I’m just curious, Miss Turner, but how did you find out about his arrest?” JJ asked, pen poised and ready to write.

 

“I have sources in the military, Miss Jareau. They informed me of his arrest shortly after we received word that Lieutenant-General Armstrong was attacked,” Turner told them.

 

“How shortly after?” JJ asked, instinct urging her to.

 

“I received a call around 10:00pm, maybe a little after, from my source, telling me that Lieutenant-General Armstrong had been attacked and that General Mustang was to be arrested. An hour later, my source called me back to tell me that an arrest warrant had been served and he was in custody,” Turner said and JJ noted it.

 

“Would you be willing to name your source?” JJ asked, not hopeful considering how rare it was to get a journalist back in America to name their source without a warrant or deal to persuade them.

 

“Miss Jareau, I don’t know how it works in your home country but here, our sources expect a certain degree of protection from us if they choose to remain anonymous,” Turner told her and JJ had to admit it was one of the nicer ways she’d been told ‘no’.

 

“And your source has asked to remain anonymous?” Prentiss asked, beating JJ to the question.

 

“As a matter of fact, no. She isn’t really my source but she passes along messages from her boss,” Turner told them. “I won’t tell you who this person is as I have made a promise to not name names however I will tell you that her boss is a general in the military and I think you’d be able to figure out which general’s secretary has been passing along messages,” Turner said, leaning back slightly in her chair. JJ immediately noted that down to pursue further at a later date.

 

“Did your source mention to you that the investigation had gathered evidence that proved beyond a reasonable doubt that General Mustang was guilty?” JJ asked and Turner sighed a little before pulling a notepad towards herself and flipping through it.

 

“My source told me, and I quote, that Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Brookes’ team had gathered compelling evidence at previous crime scenes and secured a statement from Lieutenant-General Armstrong after her attack that confirmed that Brigadier-General Mustang was the culprit,” Turner told them, obviously daring them to question her wording of the articles. “I’m aware that General Mustang has not been to trial yet and thus hasn’t received a verdict from a jury however my source was very adamant that her boss had this proof,” Turner informed them.

 

“Well, Miss Turner, your source was wrong,” JJ told her and Turner froze in surprise.

 

“How so?” Turner asked once she recovered from her slight shock. She had a pen in her hand now and JJ didn’t bother trying to stop her.

 

“There is no physical evidence tying General Mustang to any crime scene and Lieutenant-General Armstrong was not only _not_ interviewed the night she was attacked, but she did not identify General Mustang as her attacker when she _was_ interviewed. In fact, she never saw her attacker’s face and couldn’t even give us the gender of the criminal,” JJ told her and Turner wrote this information down. “I have to ask but didn’t you check this information with other people?” JJ asked a little incredulously.

 

“My source’s information for my previous articles had all checked out to be true and I needed to submit the article to my editor immediately as we were going to print the next day,” Turner said defensively. “I didn’t accuse General Mustang directly of the crimes,” she pointed out but JJ shook her head.

 

“You didn’t, that’s true, but you didn’t keep your article objective. If I had been reading those articles as someone who wasn’t working the case and therefore relied solely on the newspapers for information, I would be led to believe that there was no doubt that General Mustang was guilty. You may not have outright said it but you certainly didn’t make sure your article stayed neutral.” JJ knew she sounded slightly scolding but couldn’t help it. It infuriated her to see journalists blatantly abuse their positions like this.

 

“My source –“ Turner started to say but JJ cut her off pretty quickly.

 

“You didn’t fact-check, Miss Turner. A simple phone call to Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes would’ve cleared this matter up,” JJ told her bluntly. Turner glared at her before visibly calming herself down and plastering on a fake smile.

 

“Is there anything else I can help you with, Miss Jareau? I am a busy woman and I do have an appointment shortly,” Turner told her, keeping her voice forcibly sweet.

 

“Have you heard any rumours of someone bragging that they managed to frame a general?” JJ asked and Turner shook her head.

 

“No. I’ve heard no such rumours nor have any of my co-workers told me about anything of the like,” Turner told them. JJ noted that before standing, which prompted Emily to do the same, and reached a hand out for Turner to shake.

 

“Thank you for your time, Miss Turner. We’ve asked everything we needed to and won’t take up anymore of your valuable time. Have a good day,” JJ said as Emily and the two men shook Turner’s hand.

 

“You as well,” Turner said as JJ and Emily headed for the door that Fuery was holding open for them, Falman following close behind. None of them looked back when the door shut to see Turner grabbing her phone and dialing a number before waiting furiously for the other person to answer.

 

The four of them headed down the stairs and past the secretary desk, nodding to Susan when the woman noticed them leaving and didn’t say anything until they were back in the vehicle. Prentiss wasn’t the only to notice the irritation on JJ’s face as they walked out of the building.

 

“Where to next, Agent Jareau?” Falman asked once they were in the car. His question caused JJ to let out the frustrated breath she’d been holding in.

 

“The publishing house for Central Weekly, please, Lieutenant Falman,” JJ said, giving the man a smile before looking at Prentiss, who was trying to hide an amused smirk at JJ’s obvious irritation. JJ glared at her co-worker and friend before smiling a little sheepishly. “I guess it doesn’t matter which country you’re in, the journalists will always be the same, huh?” JJ said, a little forlornly. Prentiss petted her hand consolingly.

 

“Maybe the rest will be better,” Prentiss said optimistically and JJ smiled gratefully at her as she straightened from her slight slouch. They could only hope so. 

* * *

 

The three other publishing houses had proved no fruitful leads for the team so their next course of action was to talk to the two radio station hosts suggested to JJ by the Amestrian team. Falman informed JJ and Prentiss that the host of ‘Central’s Morning Report’ was a man by the name of Steven Murray and the station that transmitted this program was the same station that Fuery, Breda and Ross had brought the late Fuhrer Bradley’s wife to use during Promised Day to reveal that an order had been given to have her and everyone with her except Mustang killed because she was in the way of the military and their plans. The second host, William Levine, belonged to the same station but hosted the evening news program, ‘Central’s Evening Report’. JJ and Prentiss had rolled their eyes at the originality of the programs’ names.

 

They arrived at the building a little after lunch time with little fanfare. Falman parked the car and they climbed out, stretching a little, feeling the familiar ache of their muscles from sitting all day with minimal movement and being in a car for a while, before heading into the building Falman led them towards.

 

“Good afternoon. How may I help you?” A woman greeted politely as soon as they walked through the doors. To JJ and Prentiss’ surprise, Fuery was the one to approach the desk. Up until now, Falman had been the one to request the interviews.

 

“Hello. We were hoping to speak with Mr. Murray and Mr. Levine, if neither of them is too busy,” Fuery said, giving the woman a shy smile. She returned it and picked up her phone while Fuery turned back to the others to answer JJ and Prentiss’ silent question. “When we borrowed the station, I met Steve and Will and became friends with them after a little while,” Fuery admitted a little sheepishly.

 

“Of course, you did,” Falman said, gracing the younger man with a rare smile, much to Fuery’s delight. The sound of a throat clearing had them focusing on the young woman at the desk.

 

“Mr. Murray and Mr. Levine would be delighted to see you. I assume you know the way to the staff break room? That’s where they’re about to have lunch,” the woman said, smiling at Fuery when he nodded. “Excellent. You can head there now, if you’d like,” she told them.

 

“Thank you,” Fuery said, bowing slightly before he headed for a corridor, looking back to make sure the others were following him.

 

The walk to the break room didn’t take too long and when they arrived, they were the only ones in there. It was barely half a minute later when they heard two sets of footsteps approaching the door. It was the only warning they got before the door opened and two men walked inside, spotted Fuery and called out happy greetings as they approached the bespectacled man. Fuery greeted them just as happily but soon turned their attentions to the three other people in the room.

 

“Steve, Will, this is Lieutenant Falman, Miss Jennifer Jareau and Miss Emily Prentiss,” he gestured to each person. “Guys, these are Steven Murray and William Levine,” Fuery introduced the two men, pointing to the man that corresponded with the name. Murray was a gangly, blonde man with a warm, friendly smile and looked to be only a little older than Fuery whereas Levine was of average build and size, with brunette hair and an almost stoic demeanour. While Murray waved at them, Levine merely nodded.

 

“Why don’t we all sit down and you can tell us why you’re here, Kain,” Murray suggested and Fuery nodded in compliance. Everyone did as the blonde said, with the exception of the two radio hosts who went and grabbed their lunches from the fridge and joined them. “I hope you don’t mind if we eat while we talk?” Murray asked but four voices reassured him they were fine with it.

 

“Miss Jareau and Miss Prentiss would like to ask you guys some questions about your reports on the five recent murders, General Armstrong’s attack and Brigadier-General Mustang’s arrest, if that’s alright with you?” Fuery asked nervously.

 

“It’s fine. What do you guys want to know?” Murray assured Fuery and asked the women. JJ already had her notepad out.

 

“Firstly, I’d like to know where you received your information for your programs?” JJ asked, pen at the ready.

 

“From the same places as every other reporter, I suppose,” Murray said, glancing at Levine. “We receive reports from the military, gather evidence from sources, use what the newspapers have printed. We verify everything we’re told with as many people as possible before we go on the air,” Murray told her.

 

“We each have an intern who does the groundwork for us,” Levine spoke up. “They set up meetings for us with military or other sources, talk with journalists and run interference between us and everyone else. We mainly spend our time before and after our programs verifying everything brought to us and writing the script for the report,” he explained and JJ nodded as she wrote.

 

“Have you received any reports that definitively state that General Mustang is either guilty or innocent? If so, from whom did you receive those reports?” JJ asked next and wasn’t surprised when both men shook their heads.

 

“No, I haven’t received anything of the sort,” Murray told her and Levine said the same.

 

“Have you heard any rumours about someone boasting about how they’ve managed to frame a general or anything of a similar nature?” JJ moved on to her next question but the answers were the same.

 

“Do you have any reason to believe that Brigadier-General Mustang has been framed? We can add that to the evening report,” Murray asked after he and Levine had confirmed they hadn’t heard any rumours.

 

“Unfortunately, no. We have no concrete evidence yet. At the moment, it’s merely one of many theories we have at the moment,” JJ told him, a little apologetically before moving on. “Has there been any information given to you that you couldn’t verify completely or seemed unusual to you?” Levine and Murray frowned in thought.

 

“I don’t think so,” Murray eventually said. “I mean, there was that article by Debora Turner released the day after General Armstrong was attacked and General Mustang was arrested that basically said that Mustang was definitely guilty but, I mean, I only read that article. I haven’t received anything weird myself,” Murray said.

 

“I can’t say I’ve been given information I couldn’t verify nor any information that seemed unusual,” Levine told her. JJ didn’t look surprised. Instead, she looked at Emily to see if she had any questions but the raven-haired BAU agent shook her head almost imperceptibly. JJ focused her attention back on the two radio hosts.

 

“Thank you for answering our questions, gentleman. We’ll be in touch if we need to ask you anything more but thank you for taking the time today to speak with us,” JJ said, holding her hand out for the men to shake. Prentiss followed suit with her own thanks, as did Falman.

 

“You’re welcome,” Murray said with a smile before turning to Fuery. “We’re going out for drinks on Friday, if you want to join us?” He asked and Fuery looked conflicted for a moment.

 

“If, by some miracle, we manage to solve this case by then, I’ll join you,” Fuery promised them. Murray and Levine accepted the compromise.

 

“Excellent. We hope to see you there,” Murray said, clapping Fuery on the shoulder jovially before letting the younger man join up with his three team members.

 

“Have a good day, guys,” Fuery said as he followed JJ, Emily and Falman out of the room and grinned when he heard Murray and Levine’s similar goodbyes called out behind him.

 

They walked past the receptionist, who wished them a good afternoon and they did the same, before they headed back to the parked car. Once Falman had unlocked it, they were quick to climb in and Falman was just as quick in starting the car up and getting them on the fastest route to Central Command.

 

“Well, I certainly hope the others have had better luck than us,” JJ said, a little annoyed at how little their day had yielded. The only thing of import they’d uncovered was that Debora Turner’s source worked for a general who was either severely misinformed or blatantly lied to their subordinate and had them lie to the journalist.

 

“We’ll find out shortly,” Prentiss told her in a comforting manner. JJ gave her a grateful smile before the blonde turned her attention to the two Amestrian soldiers.

 

“So, why exactly did you hijack a radio station?” JJ asked, smiling as Fuery turned around a little in his seat to start explaining the events that led up to Mrs. Bradley going on the air.

* * *

The walk to Hawkeye’s apartment was filled with a comfortable silence between Alphonse and Hawkeye. They’d left the office just after dinner and after everyone had exchanged news on what they’d uncovered that day. It hadn’t taken long for them to figure out who the source was for Debora Turner. With the massive clue about her source working as a general’s secretary, all they had to do was pull employment records for the generals they suspected, Widdon, Combes and Smythe were at the top of the list, and they quickly found out that Widdon’s secretary, Eleanor Turner, was Debora’s sister. Hawkeye decided that she would talk to the woman about passing along information about ongoing investigations tomorrow.

 

“Thank you for accompanying me tonight, Alphonse,” Hawkeye said as they approached her building.

 

“It was no problems, Miss Riza. I’m glad to get the fresh air,” Al told her, an honest smile on his face. Hawkeye returned the smile as she let them into the building and led them up to her apartment.

 

Both Elric brothers had been in her apartment a few times for various reasons but it always seemed like an honour for them to be let in. Hawkeye unlocked her door and let Alphonse inside, closing the door just as Black Hayate came running to greet them excitedly. Hawkeye allowed him to jump on her before moving his attention to Alphonse before ordering him to behave while she went to fetch his leash and change into clothes better suited to walking her dog than her uniform. Black Hayate immediately sat at Al’s feet, waiting for his owner with his tongue lolling out of his mouth happily.

 

The walk itself was fairly uneventful. They walked along Hawkeye’s usual route, saying hello to the people Hawkeye always saw at this time, as they made their way to the small park 20 minutes away from Hawkeye’s building. When Al asked why she didn’t go the one closer, she told him it was because the longer walk did Hayate more good since it was a rare day lately where she got to walk him twice a day. Once at the park, Hayate was let off the leash and took off to explore the area, always making sure he could still see Hawkeye and Al as he walked about.

 

The two blondes spoke about meaningless things; a mutual, unspoken agreement between the two to not speak about the case. Instead, Al told Hawkeye about everything Elysia had told him the previous night. He had managed to convince Ed that a night sleeping in their own beds rather than the couches in Mustang’s office would be good for them and they’d gotten back to Gracia’s house early enough to phone Granny Pinako to speak to everyone. Gracia was interested in knowing how the case was going and had been encouraging over the phone, assuring the boys that she had every confidence that they would be able to solve this soon. Elysia had told them all about her adventures with Winry – who had decided to stay in Resembool a couple of days longer than planned – before regaling them with adventures she’d had with Den and her mother. Both Hughes’ had expressed their hope they’d be home soon and Hawkeye wasn’t blind to the way Al’s voice had a hint of guilt to it and knew it meant that undoubtedly both Elric’s believed they should have already solved this case by now so the Hughes’ could come home.

 

“We still have the three days remaining where we won’t have to worry about a trial. Something will happen and we will get the lead we need. I’ll tell your brother what I’m about to tell you but there’s nothing more you could have done to find the real criminal any sooner. We’re all working as hard as we can and, unfortunately, the circumstances just aren’t in our favour. We will figure this out but it will take time and Gracia and Elysia know we’re doing our best,” Hawkeye told him sternly. Al nodded in agreement and Hawkeye was pleased to see some tension leave his body.

 

“Thank you, Miss Riza. I think I needed to hear that,” Al said, a grateful smile on his face. Hawkeye gave him a small smile before whistling for Black Hayate, who immediately raced for them.

 

“Sometimes you just need to be reminded that you are doing the best you can,” Hawkeye told him as she crouched down to clip Hayate’s lead back on his collar and straightened once more. “Let’s head back to the apartment now. Rebecca will be at the office shortly and I’m sure your brother will need you to pull him out of his work shortly,” Hawkeye said and Al nodded in agreement.

 

A half hour later found them on their way back to the office with Black Hayate secured in the apartment, his food and water topped up and Hawkeye back in her uniform. When Al didn’t see her walk out of her room with a spare uniform for the next morning, Hawkeye informed him that Rebecca already had a spare uniform of hers at her apartment.

 

By the time they left the apartment, the sun had completely set and the only light they had were from the streetlights lining the roads. There weren’t many people about and Al assumed that was because everyone had arrived home from work and were eating their own dinners. There were a few people in the streets, running last minute errands but for the most part, Al and Hawkeye were on their own.

 

“Captain Hawkeye?” A soft, nervous voice sounded from the alleyway the two of them just walked past. Both of them spun immediately to face the person the voice belonged to.

 

Standing in the alley, huddled up to one of the walls, stood a woman, eyes flicking to Al and Hawkeye before flicking to the ground and back again in an anxious way. She was curled in on herself, making her already petite build look even smaller than it was. She had short, brunette hair, so dark it was almost black, that was pinned back to show her scared face. She wore civilian clothing and Al didn’t recognise her and a glance at Hawkeye told him she didn’t know her either.

 

“Yes?” Hawkeye said cautiously but soothingly, like she was talking to a scared animal.

 

“I think I have some information about Brigadier-General Mustang you would be interested in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! I would love to know your thoughts!


	17. Chapter 17

“I think I have some information about Brigadier-General Mustang you would be interested in,” she told them and Al wondered if he’d imagined the flicker of hate that shone in the woman’s eyes when she said Mustang’s name.

 

“What information?” Hawkeye asked, standing a little straighter, a small tell that this person had her interest.

 

“Please. I’ve hidden it in a safe place. I can show you?” She told them, gesturing vaguely behind her, silently telling them where her information was. When Hawkeye and Al didn’t move any closer, she glanced nervously out into the street, looking around for anyone who might overhear them. “Please, I can’t tell you here. Someone might hear us and tell-“ her eyes widened as she cut herself off by shaking her head. “No, I can’t tell you their name. They’re too powerful. They might have someone spying on me already. Please, you have to follow me,” she begged, tears pooling in her brown eyes but not spilling over just yet.

 

Al and Hawkeye exchanged a glance and Al could see that Hawkeye believed her claims as much as he did. Hawkeye held his gaze for a moment before nodding, almost imperceptibly, and turning back to the fidgeting woman standing in the mouth of the alleyway.

 

“Please show us this information,” Hawkeye requested politely, giving the brunette an encouraging and reassuring smile.

 

“Come with me,” the woman said as she turned on her heel and shuffled into the alleyway quickly. She led them almost two-thirds of the way into the alley before she pointed further up ahead. “It’s hidden up there, in an alcove in the wall,” she told them, not making any sign that was going to go and get it from the alcove.

 

Hawkeye and Al walked past her and started looking for the alcove she had mentioned but it soon became apparent there wasn’t one there. The knot in Al’s gut grew exponentially and a glance at Hawkeye showed him fear in her normally warm eyes. But he could tell her fear wasn’t for herself; it was for him and he couldn’t stop the slight warmth he felt at that. At the sound of a gun’s safety being clicked off, both Hawkeye and Al spun to face the woman, Hawkeye’s hand moving to her holstered weapon but stopped short of drawing her weapon when she saw the gun aimed for Alphonse.

 

“You would think that two people investigating murders in alleys and were convinced the killer was still at large would be smart enough not to follow a stranger into an alley,” the brunette sneered at Hawkeye as her steady hands held the gun aimed at Al’s head. “Now, Captain, you’re going to unholster your weapon and you are going to throw it past me. If you give me any reason to believe you’re going to try something heroic, I’ll pull the trigger,” she ordered, twitching her finger where it sat on the trigger to show Hawkeye she wasn’t kidding. Al couldn’t help the involuntary hitch in his breath at the threat.

 

Despite having been threatened at gunpoint before – a hazard of following Ed around on his military missions – he had been a suit of armour and knew he wouldn’t be hurt. In fact, the only time he’s ever been fired at deliberately since Promised Day was the day he and Ed had chased Moore into the industrial area, leading to Ed and Mustang’s second trip to America.

 

Hawkeye slowly unclasped her holster and carefully removed her gun in a slow, steady movement so she didn’t give their attacker the chance to believe she was going to try anything. She made sure the woman saw her safety was still engaged as she twisted the weapon to grasp it by the barrel rather than the handle. She tossed it to her right and the weapon clattered noisily against the stone floor and wall before it came to rest a metre or so behind the woman.

 

“And your back-up weapons,” the woman said, glancing at Hawkeye pointedly. Hawkeye moved with same careful movements, reached behind and under her military jacket and withdrew the two weapons in the same cautious manner as before. This time the guns landed only half a metre from her primary weapon when she threw them. Despite Hawkeye’s compliance, their attacker didn’t move the gun from where it was aimed. “Good. Now, this is what’s going to happen. The good captain there is going to turn around and start walking backwards towards me. You,” she waved the gun at Al, who twitched back slightly, “are going to stand right there. You are not going to try anything to stop us. We are going to leave and in ten minutes, you can leave too,” she ordered, glaring at Al.

 

Al knew that Hawkeye would comply with this woman but his gut was telling him that, despite her ridiculously cool and calm demeanour, this was not someone who would remain stable for long. He didn’t know why he believed that but he thought it had something to do with her eyes. There was hate, jealously, rage and desperation warring in those eyes and Al knew he had to do something to stop Hawkeye from going with her.

 

Twisting towards the wall suddenly, he startled their attacker and a shot was fired, missing him and Hawkeye. He heard Hawkeye call his name but he ignored her, clapped and slammed his hands to the wall, creating a small, solid stone rod and used his alchemy to send it right into their captor’s wrists. She reacted instinctively and dropped her gun, taking two quick steps back so she wouldn’t be hit. Her anguished growl was cut off by Alphonse getting into her space and engaging her in hand-to-hand combat.

 

Al was surprised he hadn’t managed to take this woman down straight away. He knew it was stupid going into a fight with the expectation it would be a quick win but he truly thought she wouldn’t have managed to get more than a couple of blows in before he could subdue her. For every blow that she landed, he got two in but it didn’t seem to be making any difference to her. She managed to kick his knee and he felt it move in a way it shouldn’t but he never went down, thank to years of training with Teacher and Ed. She seemed surprised and he used that do his advantage and broke her nose. Her eyes lit up in fury and she came back swinging and landed a hit that worsened the injury to his forehead and caused even more blood to run down his face.

 

He retaliated and got a good hit to her ankle in but she surprised him by moving her leg with the blow and bringing her foot up to kick him in the chest, bruising some ribs in the process, rather than going down like Al had expected. Al had learned a long time ago that you should never go easy on your opponent because of their gender so he was puzzled as to why she wasn’t going down as easily as she should have been. That’s when he made the horrifying realisation that his hits weren’t taking her down as quickly because he wasn’t as strong as he had been when he was bonded to the armour. He wasn’t even quite at the same level as he had been before _that_ night because of the fact that his doctor had forbidden him from training until nearly six months after Promised Day and even then it was only in small sessions that increased in duration every week. He’d only resumed his normal training sessions a couple of weeks before he was cleared to join Ed on missions again.

 

Shaking his head to rid himself of distracting thoughts, he noted the two cuffs on her wrists and glimpsed the arrays etched into the metal. While he couldn’t tell what transmutations those particular arrays were for, he felt a little pride in being proven right about the serial killer being an alchemist. He kept pressing her, refusing to give her an inch so she could activate those arrays but this also meant he didn’t have any chance to use another transmutation.

 

“I am too close to finishing this! You won’t stop me when I am finally so close to getting what that bastard stole from me! Not after I’ve killed six people to get this far! I won’t let you!” The brunette screeched at Al, clawing at his face, nails gouging into his cheek and causing more blood to run down his face. “Her bastard of a father kept it from me this long and I won’t let _you_ stand in my way!” She howled, her fighting turning from somewhat disciplined to something animalistic and desperate.

 

This sudden change in behaviour caught Al off guard and a lucky hit to his sternum sent him stumbling back enough for the woman to scoop up her gun and pistol-whip Alphonse up the side of his head, sending him crashing into the ground. The blow was devastating enough that he couldn’t get back up straight away and he was still struggling to draw a breath after the hit he took to his sternum. She scrambled back from him and pointed her gun at Hawkeye, who had called out in concern for Al. Her hands were no longer steady and they shook in anger as her wild eyes bored holes into Hawkeye. 

* * *

 

Hawkeye watched, waiting for an opportunity to help Alphonse and silently cursing their current location. The alley was one of the narrower ones in the city and there was barely enough room for Alphonse and the woman to fight, let alone the three of them. Her only positive thought was the evidence that the BAU and her team had uncovered that told them the attacker was not the best at hand-to-hand, relying on blitz attacks to subdue her victims. That didn’t mean that the woman didn’t get in a few good blows and soon Al had blood running into his eye, impairing his vision slightly, from a cut on his brow. Their attacker had dropped the gun but Hawkeye knew she wouldn’t be able to get to it without getting in Al’s way.

 

She watched as Alphonse fought valiantly against their attacker but even though he was one of the best fighters Hawkeye had had the privilege of knowing but Hawkeye also knew how much Al had been struggling to get his fighting form back to the level it had been before Promised Day and before the night of the Elrics accident. Despite this woman not being trained to the same degree as the Elric brothers, she still had some training and Hawkeye watched as the woman let her emotions start influencing her moves.

 

Even though she saw Al do his best to try and create an opening for Hawkeye to either get the weapon their attacker dropped or get passed them completely to her own weapons, she never got the opportunity and then suddenly the woman was screaming about not letting Al get in her way and Al was sent stumbling back from a nasty blow to his sternum. Hawkeye saw the woman’s plan a split-second after the woman formed it and moved to intercept but was too late. The gun was scooped up and Al was sent crashing to the ground with a sickening blow to his head.

 

“Alphonse!” Hawkeye said as she ignored the gun aimed at her and knelt next to the boy who was sluggishly struggling to get back up and get his breath back. His eyes were glazed in pain and confusion when she pressed on his shoulder to keep him from moving. “Stay down. Listen to me,” Hawkeye insisted, speaking quickly as she heard their attacker stomping over to them and Al felt her shove something soft into his jacket pocket. “This has something to do with my father. Talk to Mustang. Figure it out,” she ordered as she felt the business end of the brunette’s gun press against the base of her skull.

 

“Get up.” The hissed order sounded directly behind her. Hawkeye raised both her hands and tried to ignore Al’s mumbled protests and his weak grasps at her uniform jacket, trying to stop her. As soon as she finished standing, a hand grabbed the back of her jacket and yanked her backwards, away from Alphonse, before turning her towards the mouth of the alley. The cold steel of the gun’s barrel disappeared from her skull only to be jabbed harshly into her left side and Hawkeye knew from the angle that if that gun fired, she would be killed instantly. “We are going to walk out of this alley and down the street to where my car is parked. If you try to resist, try to escape, I will shoot you and I will come back to this alley and shoot him,” the woman’s voice told her coldly, said in between semi-controlled breaths, obviously an attempt to calm down from the fight against Alphonse.

 

Hawkeye could hear Al calling for her and the sounds of something scraping on the stones before something heavier collapsed and knew Al was trying to get back up to try and help her. She walked past her discarded weapons and squashed down the instinct to try and grab one. She knew she would never avoid the bullet fired into her side completely and she refused to take the chance that she might not succeed and her failure would cost her Al’s life. So, she did as she was ordered and continued walking away with the gun digging painfully into her side. 

* * *

 

Alphonse couldn’t think straight. His head felt like it had been caved in and the blood produced from the injuries to his face seeped into his eyes, causing his vision to go red. He felt Hawkeye next to him and heard her frantic whispers as she hid something in his jacket pocket. He saw the blurry figure approach them and saw the glint of the weapon as it was pressed to the back of Hawkeye’s head.

 

He heard the woman hiss something to Hawkeye and he tried desperately to grasp her jacket to try and stop her from leaving. His instinct that this woman was unstable had been proven right and he didn’t want to imagine what she would do to Hawkeye to get whatever it was she was after. Hawkeye was wrenched out of his feeble grasp and he tried to protest as she was turned away from him. The gleam of the gun told him it was now pressed into Hawkeye’s side, hidden from view if someone were to walk past the two of them so as not clue someone in on the fact that Hawkeye was being kidnapped.

 

He tried forcing his body to cooperate and get up so he could stop the woman but he never made it further than getting a leg under himself before he collapsed back to the ground. His mind was so fuzzy and his head hurt so much that he knew that if he attempted any alchemy, he’d likely cause a rebound. He finally got to his hands and knees and crawled a few steps just as the women disappeared around the corner. His arms trembled violently and he crashed back down onto the filthy alley floor. He tried once again to get himself up but he couldn’t even lift his arms anymore. Before he could try again, there was a violent stab of pain in his head and his vision went black before he lost consciousness, hoping that Ed would know something was wrong soon. 

* * *

 

Edward was grinning amusedly at Havoc’s antics while he was also keeping a close eye on the clock. His brother and Hawkeye had assured them that they would be back in the office two hours after they left. They’d received a couple more test results from lab since the two had left and Ed wanted them to see it before everyone left to get some sleep or get caught up in the case. They still needed to discuss the next day’s jobs for everyone.

 

There’d also been an interesting theory brought up by Reid that Ed couldn’t believe no one had ever considered during the course of their investigation. They’d been talking about how organised this killer was and how dedicated they were to framing Mustang when Reid had piped at and suggested that maybe the killer was a woman. He explained that, while female serial killers were rare and serial killers who were female and chose fire as their weapon was even rarer, the level of planning and patience that had to have gone into this whole crime spree was far more commonly seen in crimes committed by women.

 

They’d been discussing this theory when the two-hour deadline Al and Hawkeye had set passed. Despite there being no signs of the blondes yet, Ed didn’t panic. It was possible that something had help them up; maybe an officer had stopped Hawkeye to talk with her about something or Hayate’s walk had taken a few minutes longer than anticipated. So, Ed didn’t panic when they didn’t show up when they said they would. But he started growing more and more anxious with each movement of the minute hand on the clock.

 

“I bet you Captain Hawkeye ran into Rebecca or one of her other friends and got caught up gossiping or something like that,” Havoc laughed when a full half an hour passed after the two blondes were supposed to back. “You know what women can get like when they start chatting.” He nudged Ed jokingly in the ribs and Ed cracked a strained smile. A look around the room told him that Mustang’s team – including Havoc – were looking as worried as Ed felt. The BAU weren’t looking any more relaxed either. Ed was moments away from going out and looking for their missing team members when a knock sounded at the door.

 

“Enter.” Ed’s voice almost cracked with relief as the door opened. However, the sight of his brother and his friend was not what he was greeted with. “Miss Rebecca?” Ed was surprised. He’d only met Rebecca a couple of times, normally when she came to speak with Hawkeye about something while he happened to be in the office, but he knew the women were more likely to meet in the mess hall or at a restaurant in town rather than one of their offices.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Rebecca greeted as she looked around the room and Ed saw her face fall when she didn’t see what she was looking for. “I’m sorry to interrupt your night but I was supposed to meet with Riza when she came back from walking Black Hayate to discuss what time she expected to finish here tonight so we could head back to my apartment. I was expecting her half an hour ago but she never showed. I thought she might have come back here first,” Rebecca explained and Ed froze, blood pounding in his ears.

 

While unlikely, it had been possible for Hawkeye to have gotten caught up with talking with Rebecca, making her and Al late getting back to the office but Ed knew there was no way Hawkeye would miss her self-imposed deadline and the meet-up with Rebecca. That wasn’t even taking into consideration the fact that Al knew that Ed still hadn’t lost his ‘over-protective big brother’ attitude he’d acquired when Al got his body back. He would never worry Edward for so long unless something was stopping him. Something was wrong.

 

“Havoc, Fuery, Morgan, can you please go to Captain Hawkeye’s apartment and check if Black Hayate is there? If he is, it means something happened on the way to her apartment or after their walk,” Ed explained when he spotted the questioning look on Havoc’s face. “Miss Rebecca, do you know the route Miss Riza normally walk Hayate along?”

 

“Yes.” She stood a little straighter, looking ready to obey any order he gave her.

 

“Would you mind going with them? If Hayate isn’t there, something happened on the walk,” he told her and she nodded. “Use Miss Riza’s phone to call us when you’re at her apartment, please,” Ed asked and the four nodded before leaving the office. Ed slumped in his chair.

 

“What do you want us to do, Ed?” JJ asked, her voice soothing and calm. Ed shrugged.

 

“We can’t do anything until Havoc and the others report back. I could be overreacting but…” Ed trailed off and Hotch finished his sentence.

 

“You don’t think you are,” Hotch stated and Ed nodded.

 

“Something’s _wrong_. I can feel it,” Ed insisted. “We just need to wait for Havoc. Once we know whether Black Hayate is there, we’ll know where to focus our search,” Ed said and no one commented on how it sounded like Ed was trying to convince himself to wait for the phone call. 

* * *

 

Ten minutes later, the phone rang and Ed snatched it up almost immediately. “Havoc?” He asked and his shoulders sagged slightly in relief, telling those in the office that Havoc was the person on the other end of the line. “Black Hayate’s there?” Ed sounded like he was repeating what Havoc said, not actually asking. “Right. No, ask Rebecca what route Miss Riza would’ve walked to get back to the office and –“ a frantic knock at the door had Ed cut himself off. “Shit, hold on a moment, Havoc,” Ed said before looking at the door. “Enter!” Ed said, a little annoyed at the interruption.

 

The door opened and a very nervous private entered the room, eyes finding Ed immediately. “Lieutenant-Colonel Elric?” He asked and Ed nodded impatiently. “I’ve been asked to inform you that your brother, Alphonse, was found unconscious in an alley half an hour ago and has been rushed to hospital, Sir.” Ed’s heart almost stopped.

 

“Al’s in hospital? What happened?” He demanded and shoved down the guilt he felt that his harsh tone caused the private to flinch slightly.

 

“It looks like he was beaten, Sir. We only managed to confirm his identity ten minutes ago. I was sent immediately to inform you, Sir,” the private told him, likely worried Ed’s next demand was to know why it had taken them so long to tell him.

 

“What about Captain Hawkeye?” Ed asked. He could hear Havoc repeating everything he heard through the phone to the others at Hawkeye’s apartment but paid him no mind.

 

“I’m sorry, Sir, but I don’t understand,” the private admitted and Ed barely managed to suppress his irritation that the private hadn’t understood why he’d be asking after Hawkeye.

 

“What I’m asking is where is she? Captain Hawkeye and my brother were out together. If you found him, where is she?” Ed asked and he saw the moment the private realised exactly what Ed was asking.

 

“I’m sorry but only your brother was found in the alley, Sir. We did find three pistols lying in the alley, some distance away from your brother. There was no one else there,” the private told him apologetically. Ed heard Havoc swear softly and Ed nearly did the same.

 

“Alright. I need you to do something for me,” Ed told him. “Go to Fuhrer Grumman and tell him what you’ve just told me. Tell Samantha that you were sent by me and it’s extremely important you see him. Tell him that I’m going to the hospital to check on Al and that I will come and brief him on whatever Alphonse tells me. We’ll handle talking to Mustang too,” Ed ordered and the private was able to hear the dismissal, leaving with a quick salute. Ed sighed before turning his attention back to the phone call. “Havoc? Change of plans. You guys head to the crime scene. Find out what happened there. Keep Rebecca with you until we know what’s going on. After you’ve been told everything, get back to the office. We’ll meet you back here,” Ed told him, got a reply and hung up.

 

“What’s the plan, Ed?” Hotch asked and Ed stood up, grabbing his red jacket.

 

“Hotch, can you and Breda go join the others at the crime scene? It shouldn’t be too hard to find it,” Ed asked. Hotch nodded and Breda clapped Ed on the shoulder before the two of them left. “Reid, Miss Jennifer, Miss Maria, I want you guys with me while I talk to Al. Miss Emily, Rossi, Falman and Miss Sheska, can you stay here in case people decide to drop by once word gets out? I imagine there’ll be a couple of people who will try and take advantage of the fact that I won’t be here to snoop around.” Ed scowled at the thought.

 

“We’ll hold down the fort,” Rossi promised before gesturing to the door. “Head to the hospital and check on Al,” he urged and Ed nodded.

 

“Thanks, guys,” Ed said before he left the room in a flash, followed closely by Reid, JJ and Maria. Rossi watched as the door swung shut behind them and moved to sit back in his chair, hoping that any injury Alphonse suffered wasn’t severe and that Hawkeye and Al had simply been separated for some reason.

 

But he knew from the looks on everyone’s faces when the private had told them that Hawkeye wasn’t at the scene that everyone had the same thought that was currently in his head; Al and Hawkeye had been ambushed somehow and Hawkeye had been kidnapped while Al had been knocked unconscious. Rossi just hoped that the blow Al must’ve suffered to the head hadn’t been as severe as General Armstrong’s and didn’t affect his memory. This killer had already proved how ruthless they were and Rossi had an awful feeling that they couldn’t afford to waste any time. 

* * *

 

Ed, JJ, Maria and Reid had made it to the military car park in record time and Ed wasted no time in ordering a car. The warrant officer who had been sitting in the little office, ready to grab a car for any higher-up hadn’t wasted any time questioning where they were going. He’d barely had the car pulled up to where the four team members were standing before he was being ordered to get them to the hospital now.

 

When they arrived at the hospital in record time, Ed was already out of the car before the car had come to a complete stop. JJ and Reid were on his heels while Maria hung back long enough to thank their driver and send him back to the base with a promise they’d call if they needed another car before she hurried into the hospital to catch up with the rest of the group. She managed to reach them just as Edward cornered a nurse for answers.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” the nurse greeted the moment she spotted him heading for her. “Dr Evans is waiting for you outside of your brother’s room. Please follow me,” she told him quickly, cutting off anything he would’ve said. Ed nodded and the nurse spun on her heel and walked rapidly towards Al’s hospital room.

 

Doctor Evans spotted them immediately and gestured for the nurse to go into the room before stopping Ed and his escort from following her. “Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, I wish I could say it’s good to see you but given the circumstances,” Evans cut himself off, not needing to finish his statement. Ed gave a tired, humourless chuckle.

 

“Same here, Doc,” Ed joked before sobering quickly, eyes flicking to the closed door. “What happened? How badly hurt is he?” He asked, gaze coming back to the doctor.

 

“Your brother was found in an alley by a homeless man. Apparently, he’d decided to stop in that particular alley because it’s one of the cleaner ones and he stumbled upon Alphonse unconscious. He alerted a nearby business and they rang for an ambulance,” Evans told him. “No one knew who he was until he arrived here and Nurse Emma recognised him. That’s when we alerted the private who had accompanied the ambulance so he could inform you.” Ed nodded impatiently and Doctor Evans seemed to sense that impatience. “He’s still unconscious but judging from his injuries, he was in a fight shortly before he was hit on the right-side of his head with a blunt object. From the wound pattern we stitched up, it looks like a small, medium sized pipe or possibly the butt of a pistol,” Evans told them.

 

“What are his injuries, Doctor?” JJ asked and Evans barely spared her a glance before asking Ed silently whether it was okay to answer that kind of question in front of the two strangers. Ed gave him a nod.

 

“They’re friends, Doc. They’re part of the team Mr. Rossi is on,” Ed told him. Now that he had permission, Evans answered.

 

“Overall, his injuries are nothing major. He has some bruising and some minor cuts and scrapes. He suffered three bruised ribs and he’s sprained his left knee, possibly caused by his attacker kicking him or he may have fallen awkwardly after he was struck.” Evans gave them the better news first. “His head wound is not as severe as Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s. There’s no underlying fracture but that doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods yet. He’s still unconscious and while we haven’t placed him in a medically induced coma, there’s nothing saying that we won’t have to. As I told General Armstrong’s family – something you already undoubtedly know from your own history with head wounds – head injuries can be unpredictable. Your brother may suffer from a cerebral hemorrhage in the near future or there may be further complications that we don’t know about and won’t know about until he regains consciousness,” Evans warned Ed, who seemed to pale a little as Evans words sunk in.

 

“He will stay here until I no longer believe he is in any danger. I’ll be able to give you an estimate of when that will be once he’s awake and I’ve run the tests I need to,” Evans said sternly. Ed didn’t bother arguing. Evan’s expression softened a little at the lack of argument and the naked worry written all over Edward’s face. “I have every confidence that your brother will recover completely, Edward. I’ve discovered that not much can keep an Elric down for too long,” Evans told him and was rewarded with a small huff of laughter from the blonde. But as quick as that small piece of humour came, it was gone again and Ed looked serious and worried once more.

 

“Doc, has anyone else turned up unconscious or asking for Al? A blonde woman in a military uniform, maybe?” Ed asked and Evans shook his head.

 

“No, no one matching that description has been admitted or been brought to my attention. May I ask why?” Ed sighed a little and rubbed his hands over his face.

 

“Captain Hawkeye – you probably remember her from when Mustang was admitted after Promised Day – was with Alphonse this afternoon and no one has seen her since Al was found. It’s very unlike her,” Ed explained. Evans looked concerned but didn’t offer any pity, something Ed was currently grateful for.

 

“I’ll make sure the nurses and other staff are aware and have them keep their eyes and ears open,” Evans promised.

 

“Thanks, Doc.” Ed said sincerely. “Can we go in?” Ed gestured to the door and Evans couldn’t help but notice the blonde’s admirable self-control. It wouldn’t have been all that long ago that Edward would’ve just barged into his brother’s room, regardless of what the doctors or nurses said.

 

“Of course. Keep yourselves quiet though and if he shows any sign of waking up, find myself or a nurse,” Evans ordered, opening the door for them and standing aside. Ed nodded in agreement as he passed the doctor, heading straight for the chair already positioned next to his brother’s bed. The nurse who had accompanied them to the room was scribbling something in Al’s chart and offered Ed a quick but reassuring smile before she placed the chart back in its place and left the room. Ed barely noticed when Evans closed the door softly behind himself.

 

Al was hooked up to an I.V. drip and oxygen mask. Ed could see the blue and purple bruises blooming on Al’s skin as he lay in the hospital bed and the scratch marks on his cheeks. The nurses had shaved some of his hair off to uncover the wound and Ed could see the thick, black thread holding his brother’s scalp together. He didn’t feel any disgust or revulsion at the sight of the stitches; all he felt was rage settle under his skin. The only thing keeping him from lashing out was the knowledge that he would be making the person who attacked his brother and kidnapped one of his family pay for what they did sometime in the near future.

 

“Edward?” Maria’s voice pulled him out of his plans on how he would make this person pay and brought him back to the present. Maria was standing guard at the door while JJ and Reid had grabbed the extra chairs and were sitting on Al’s other side.

 

“Sorry. What do you need, Miss Maria?” Ed asked, forcing himself to look at the Lieutenant rather than staring at his brother’s still form.

 

“I was wondering if you wanted me to call your office and inform those there about Alphonse’s condition?” Maria offered and Ed felt a pang of guilt. He hadn’t even thought to let everyone else know what condition Alphonse was in.

 

“That would be great. Thank you, Miss Maria.” Ed gave her a weak smile and she gave him an encouraging smile in return before she slipped out of the room, the door clicking shut behind her.

 

“He’ll be fine, Edward. You heard Doctor Evans,” JJ said, voice soothing and warm. Ed nodded as he let himself slouch down a little further in the chair to get comfortable. He’d had far too much experience figuring out the most comfortable positions to sit in these chairs for long periods of time while Al was hospitalised after the battle with Father and the remaining homunculi.

 

“I know. It’s like the doc said; us Elric’s are tough bastards to keep down for a prolonged period of time and we have a tendency to come back swinging twice as strong,” Ed told her with a small laugh before sobering again. “But it’s not just Al I’m worried about,” Ed confided.

 

“You’re worried about Captain Hawkeye,” Reid said knowingly and Ed nodded.

 

“As much as I hate the fact that he’s here, I at least know where Al is and that he’s safe,” Ed told them, glancing back at his brother. “We have no idea where Miss Riza is or why their attacker kidnapped her. Miss Riza is one of the toughest people I know but that doesn’t mean I’m not worried about her,” Ed told them and JJ and Reid both nodded understandingly.

 

“Doctor Evans said that Al’s head wound isn’t as bad as General Armstrong’s. I’m willing to wager that he has most – if not, all – of his memory of the attack. Once he wakes up, we’ll hopefully be able to answer most of the questions this case has caused and we’ll hopefully find out why Captain Hawkeye was taken,” Reid told Ed. “We just have to be a little patient for a little while longer,” he said, a little pointedly if you asked Ed but the blonde knew Reid was right. They only needed to wait until Alphonse was awake and Doctor Evan’s had run his tests. Knowing his brother was almost as stubborn as himself and was likely to wake up before anyone expected him too, Ed made himself a little more comfortable in the chair and waited. 

* * *

 

Ed wasn’t sure what exactly had brought him out of his thoughts a couple of hours later. Ed looked up from where he was staring vacantly at a random section of wall and checked on the three conscious occupants in the room, starting with Maria. Shortly after she had left, Maria had slipped back into the room and resumed her place next to the door, guarding it like she and Brosh had done while Ed had been hospitalised after the Fifth Laboratory incident, and she hadn’t moved since, with the exception of when a nurse had come in to check on Alphonse. JJ and Reid were still seated next to Al’s bedside; Reid with a book from his shoulder bag and JJ with her notepad filled with case notes, keeping themselves busy while they waited.

 

Seeing that none of his companions had made some sort of noise to get his attention or the attention of another person, Ed glanced at Al, out of habit more than anything. To his surprise and cautious delight, Al’s face had screwed up slightly, like he was trying to wake up and didn’t want to. Ed immediately sat up straighter, all focus now on Al.

 

“Alphonse?” Ed called softly. His voice had gotten the attention of the others since he hadn’t been very talkative while in the hospital room. All three were now watching Al with bated breath while Ed called his name again. “Al?” This time, Al’s face screwed up once more before his eyes fluttered open. Ed got to see a glimpse of his golden eyes before Al screwed them shut against the brightness of the hospital room. “Miss Maria –“ Ed started but Ross was already ahead of him.

 

“I’ll get the doctor,” she said, already partway out of the door as she spoke. Ed didn’t even get the chance to thank her before she was gone so he focused his attention back on his brother.

 

“Al?” He called again, a little louder. Al mumbled something but didn’t open his eyes. “Alphonse Elric get your arse up this instant,” Ed ordered without any heat. Al mumbled something a little louder that sounded suspiciously like ‘fuck off’. Ed grinned in spite of what Al had said. “And you say I’m grumpy when you wake me. At least now you know how it feels to have your brother goading you into waking up after he’d been knocked unconscious. You might have some sympathy for me next time,” Ed teased while JJ and Reid rolled their eyes at him.

 

His words had the intended effect though. Al opened his eyes fully and glared at Ed, causing Ed to retaliate with an unconvincingly innocent smile. Al took in his surroundings when he realised what Ed had actually said, giving Reid and JJ a small smile when he spotted them. Once he’d finished his quick look, he turned back to Edward. “What happened?” Al asked, immediately causing ice to work its way down Ed’s spine.

 

“What do you remember?” Ed countered instead. Al frowned in concentration.

 

“I was with Miss Riza. We took Black Hayate for a walk to a park before taking him back to her apartment,” Al eventually said, chewing his bottom lip as he thought a bit more. “Someone stopped us on our way back to the office. She said she had something to show us in the alley. I remember thinking something wasn’t right but she told us it had to do with General Mustang so Miss Riza and I followed her in,” Al said this part a little slowly, like the pieces were coming together as he spoke. His eyes widened and he nearly bolted upright. Ed had predicted his moves though and moved quicker to push lightly on Al’s shoulders, keeping him in place.

 

“Easy, Al. You can’t sit up until Doc Evans has looked at you,” Ed told him, keeping his voice far calmer than he actually felt and not touching the reveal of the killer’s gender, focusing on keeping Al still. Thankfully, Al didn’t try to fight him but he still looked panicked.

 

“She kidnapped Miss Riza! The woman, she’s the one who framed the general and she needed Miss Riza for something!” Al told Ed and the elder Elric had to swallow down his curse at his – and everyone else’s – gut feeling proven correct. He was saved from having to respond by Maria entering the room once more, relief and worry flashing on her face when she looked at the now conscious Alphonse, before she stepped out of the way of Doctor Evans and the same nurse who had shown Ed and the others to Al’s room.

 

“Mr. Elric. We really need to have a discussion about you and your brother’s worrying habit of ending up in the hospital every other week,” Evans said dryly as he started the necessary tests. “How are you feeling?” Evans asked before Al or Ed could respond in any way and helped Al to sit up as much as he could.

 

“Like I got pistol-whipped in the head,” Al told Evans, who merely responded with a flat look that would’ve rivalled Hotch’s. “I have a pretty severe headache and I feel achy and bruised but, other than that, I feel okay, considering,” Al answered properly and Evans nodded unsurprised.

 

“We’ll give you painkillers for the headache,” Evans promised. “You have minor injuries – sprains, cuts and cruises, for the most part – with the obvious exception of your head wound. That wound required stitches and you will be staying here until they’re removed,” Evans said sternly. “You didn’t suffer a skull fracture and I am cautiously optimistic you won’t develop a cerebral hemorrhage or any other potential complications.” Evans gave Al a brief smile. “What do you remember of your attack?” The doctor asked and Al took in a deep breath before telling them everything he could remember from what happened.

 

“I tried to get back up to stop her from taking Miss Riza but I couldn’t get my limbs to cooperate and I lost consciousness. I don’t even remember being found,” Al finished saying. JJ had one hand gently on his arm as a source of comfort. “How was I found? I remember being far into the alley. I don’t think many people would’ve noticed an unconscious person from the street,” Al looked at Ed for answers but it was Evans who replied.

 

“You were found by a homeless man who had decided to sleep in that alley for the night. He had a local business call for help,” Evans told him. “No one recognised you until you were brought here. Nurse Emma was one of the first medical people to meet the ambulance when you arrived and she recognised you and we sent a private who had accompanied the ambulance to tell your brother what happened.”

 

“Thank you, Doctor Evans,” Al smiled at the man, who merely dipped his head in acknowledgment of the thanks.

 

“You can thank me by not channeling your brother and trying to leave here AMA,” Evans told him, immediately earning a chuckled promise from Al and mumbled comment from Ed. “A nurse will be in later to check on you during the night but if you need something before then, don’t hesitate to find myself or a nurse,” Evans said before gesturing for the nurse to follow him.

 

“Thanks, Doc,” Ed said as the man went to follow his nurse out of the room. Ed got a simple nod before the door shut behind the doctor and the room was once again free from medical personnel. The elder Elric turned back to his younger brother. “What happened after you entered the alley?” Ed asked softly, needing all the information Al might have left out, thinking it wasn’t necessary or not relevant. JJ and Reid leaned forward in their seats and Ed noticed that JJ had her pen out and ready to write.

 

“The woman told us she had hidden the information in an alcove towards the end of the alley but refused to get it herself. Hawkeye and I didn’t have a good feeling about it but we couldn’t take the chance that what she was saying was real and we were just being paranoid.” Al sounded upset at himself but he kept talking before anyone could say anything. “We obviously couldn’t find anything but before we could say anything, we heard a gun’s safety being disengaged. We’d been led into a trap. We turned to face her but Captain Hawkeye couldn’t draw her weapon because the woman had her gun aimed at my head.” Ed went rigid and his eyes filled with cold fury but he didn’t do or say anything to interrupt his brother.

 

“She told us how stupid we were for falling for her trap then ordered Miss Riza to disarm herself of all of her weapons, including her back-ups. Miss Riza threw her guns behind the woman and the woman told us that she was taking Miss Riza and that I had to stay in the alley for ten minutes, after which time I could leave,” Al said before shaking his head. “But something didn’t feel right with me. I just knew that if Miss Riza went with her and refused to cooperate, something bad would happen so I alchemised a small rod out of the stone wall and tried to hit her wrists with it. She fired at me but the bullet missed. The rod didn’t hit her but she did drop the gun when she moved out of the way. I rushed her and we fought but she started getting desperate in her fighting and she hit me with a lucky hit. I stumbled back enough to let her pick the gun up and she hit me over the head,” Al said, reaching up with his hand to touch the wounded spot on his scalp, subconsciously showing them and freezing slightly when his hand felt his shaved scalp. “Brother?” Al’s voice sounded calm and a little confused.

 

“What?” Ed asked and he was definitely confused. “Is your head hurting?” He asked worriedly when Al’s fingers lightly scrabbled across his skull, feeling the wound and shaved hair.

 

“Why did they shave my head?!” Al asked incredulously, ignoring Ed’s question, and Ed couldn’t help it; he laughed. Al pouted at his reaction and even JJ, Reid and Maria couldn’t hide their amusement.

 

“Seriously, Al? They had to so they could stitch your injury together!” Ed told him in between giggles. Al glared at him then at Reid when he couldn’t hold his laughter in anymore.

 

“They never cut or shave your hair when you get a head injury and you’ve got a lot more hair than me!” Al cried indignantly, crossing his arms in annoyance, though he did wince when the movement pulled at his bruised ribs.

 

“You’d have to ask the doc, Al,” Ed told him, grinning at his little brother’s childish behaviour.

 

“What did the woman look like, Al? Did she give you any kind of name?” JJ asked once all the chuckles had died down. Any humour in the room immediately disappeared as the seriousness of the situation enveloped the room.

 

“She was wearing civilian clothing. A pair of light brown slacks and a red, long-sleeved blouse. She wore a pair of flat sandals and no jewelry that I could see. Her hair was cut short, like Miss Gracia’s, but it was pinned back. It looked brunette in the light but it was a really dark brunette. She was as tall as General Mustang but she was really slight and she held the gun with her left hand,” Al recounted. “She also had two metal cuffs on her wrists that had an array etched on each of them but I didn’t get the chance to look at them properly so I don’t know what the arrays were for,” Al told them, a little annoyed with himself for not getting that bit of information. “She also had brown eyes and I thought I saw a scar on the top of her shoulder while we were fighting.” That got Reid’s attention.

 

“What kind of scar?” He asked before elaborating when Al looked confused about why that would matter. “It would help confirm her identity if people claimed you were mistaken or couldn’t be reliable because of your injury,” Reid said, lightly tapping the side of his head where Al’s wound would’ve been.

 

“I’m not sure. It looked old and sunken in a little,” Al said before sitting up a little as he remembered something else. “It also looked a little wrinkly, not smooth like surgical scars,” he told him. Reid looked contemplative as he thought over Al’s answer.

 

“It could be a burn scar or just a large wound that required a skin graft. Maybe she never sought or received medical help when she got injured,” Reid eventually said. “I guess we’ll find out when we catch her. Which shoulder was this burn on?” Reid asked.

 

“Her right one,” Al said immediately and Reid nodded.

 

“I expected so since her injury would have likely caused some kind of nerve damage and may have hindered her range of movement in that shoulder. None of the injuries the victims sustained showed evidence that she hadn’t been able to swing the pipe at full strength,” Reid explained. “Now that we know definitely that she is a woman, it explains why the blows to their heads weren’t enough to kill them outright and why General Armstrong hadn’t suffered worse wounds.”

 

“Did she say anything?” Maria asked. Maria had moved from her position from the door by this stage and was standing next to Ed.

 

“Anything other than her ruse or her threats at the start of the encounter?” JJ asked specifically, giving Maria a smile to thank her for asking.

 

“Um, she started yelling things while we were fighting about how she was so close to succeeding and that she wouldn’t let me get in her way. She told me that Miss Riza’s father had kept something from her and that some bastard had stolen it from her. I think she meant someone other than Miss Riza’s father when she said that. Miss Riza also said that this whole thing had something to do with her father and that we should talk to General Mustang,” Al told them. “She also said something about killing six people,” he said that part a little slowly, like he wasn’t confident he was recalling that memory properly. JJ and Reid picked up on it.

 

“Are you sure that’s what she said?” JJ asked gently. Al scrunched up his face as he went through his memory again before nodding confidently.

 

“Yes. She definitely said she’d killed six people to get this far and that she wouldn’t let me get in the way,” Al told her, his voice completely sure. Everyone looked completely – and understandably – confused.

 

“Did she give any indication about who the sixth victim was?” Reid asked but was disappointed when Al shook his head.

 

“That makes no sense! There were only five victims who were killed. Both Al and General Armstrong ended up in hospital alive and Miss Riza wasn’t killed in the alley when this psycho was fighting Al. Who the fuck was the sixth person?!” Ed exclaimed, throwing his arms up in an annoyed gesture.

 

“Is it possible that Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes didn’t connect a sixth victim? We all saw his original reports on Captain Bryce’s death and Major Pardi’s murder. They’d originally concluded that Bryce was killed by his own drunkenness and unfortunate circumstances. It took them until Colonel Summers’ body was found before he started realising there was a serial killer loose,” JJ suggested but Ed and Al were already shaking their heads.

 

“No, there were no reported deaths by fire in alleys before Captain Bryce was found,” Al told them. “We would’ve heard about that,” he told the BAU members.

 

“Yeah, what Al said,” Ed agreed. “In fact, the only time I can remember someone being burned alive was about four months before Bryce was killed. Some State Alchemist assessor was found killed, remember, Al?” But Al didn’t get the chance answer before Ed’s eyes widened in shock and he groaned in annoyance. “We’re fucking idiots, Al,” he moaned into his hands, to the confusion of everyone else in the room. “Fucking Frank Chambers,” Ed muttered before looking up and seeing realisation etch itself into his brother’s features.

 

“Do you really think so?” Al asked and Ed nodded vehemently.

 

“Yes, it makes sense _and_ he fits with the victim profile. Plus, I heard that Lieutenant-Colonel Granger still hasn’t solved his death yet,” Ed told him and Al nodded in agreement.

 

“It would make sense but why would she kill him so much earlier than Captain Bryce?” Al asked and Ed shrugged but couldn’t reply because someone else spoke up.

 

“Guys? Maybe you would be kind enough to fill us in on what you’ve just realised?” Reid asked and both Elric’s flushed as they realised they’d left their friends in the dark while they were in their little bubble.

 

“About four months ago, Mustang got a call from a Lieutenant-Colonel Granger asking him for his help with a body that had been discovered. Al and I were in his office at the time because I needed to hand in my report on a mission I’d just completed. When Mustang tried to palm the new case over to me, I was in a fairly petty mood because of something Mustang said,” Ed rolled his eyes, “and I’m pretty sure I said something about him being a lazy bastard or something so he decided he’d be coming with us,” Ed told them, completely unashamed. Reid and JJ were trying to hide their amusement behind their professional masks while Maria looked like she was seriously wondering how he hadn’t been court-martialed yet.

 

“We arrived at the scene and met with Granger. As soon as we got out of the car, we could immediately tell why Mustang had been asked to investigate.” Ed’s grin slid off his face at the memory. “We were shown to the body and found the victim in the alley, burned beyond recognition. I can’t believe we didn’t make this connection earlier because his burns were almost identical to the ones the five others suffered,” Ed said, thoroughly annoyed at himself and almost jumped when a warm hand landed on his left shoulder. A look showed him it belonged to Maria.

 

“No one blames the two of you for not remembering a victim whose death you didn’t even investigate nor for not connecting it to these murders. A lot of time had passed between the first two deaths,” Maria assured him and Ed gave her a grateful smile.

 

“Lieutenant Ross is right, you know,” JJ told them. After staring them down for a moment to make sure they believed them, she asked a question. “Who was the victim?”

 

“Frank Chambers,” Ed told her. “He was a State Alchemist assessor. His job, essentially, was to assess potential candidates who were recommended for or applied to the State Alchemy program. Things like making sure their alchemy would benefit the military, their criminal background was non-existent or within the accepted parameters, that they were physically and mentally fit enough to serve the military as a State Alchemist and whether they would be better suited to a research or field role, assuming they met all other criteria. Frank Chambers was one of a handful of people who made the final say on applicants,” Ed explained.

 

“Okay. Now, how does he fit the victim profile?” JJ asked, pen busy scribbling Ed’s previous statement down.

 

“He and Mustang had a fight a few weeks before Chambers death,” Ed told her. “Apparently, Mustang had recommended some alchemist for the program. I don’t know who or what their alchemy specialty was so don’t bother asking,” Ed warned before continuing. “Chambers turned the application down and Mustang was pissed off about it because apparently this alchemist would’ve been a benefit to the program and military. I’m pretty sure Mustang was also worried about his image. Wouldn’t have done him any favours for people to find out an alchemist he’d personally recommended had been denied.” Al rolled his eyes at his brother.

 

“Why was this alchemist denied?” Reid asked curiously.

 

“I think Mustang said something about him getting pulled into a brawl and was arrested for it. Under Bradley’s rule, this would’ve been enough to deny the application but Grumman’s ruling stated that any kind of criminal background wasn’t cause for automatic denial. I don’t really remember all the details but I know Chambers and Mustang threatened to file complaints against one another and from what I remember, Mustang, at least, did,” Ed told them. “I ran into Granger a few days before General Andrews was found by chance and asked her how the investigation went and she told me it had gone cold from lack of leads,” Ed divulged.

 

“It certainly is possible that Chambers could have been the first victim,” Reid admitted slowly, thinking everything through. “Was Doctor Cole the coroner who performed the autopsy?” Ed shook his head.

 

“Nah, Doctor Knox was the one who turned up,” Ed told them. “I do remember thinking it was a bit of a weird coincidence that Chambers was killed when he was though.” Al nodded, knowing where Ed was going with that thought.

 

“I thought that as well.” Seeing the blank looks on the faces of JJ, Reid and Maria, Al explained. “Chambers was found the day after General Mustang’s promotion from colonel to brigadier-general was announced.” Both Elrics thought they saw something flash in Reid and JJ’s eyes at that but neither BAU member said anything.

 

“I think it might very well be worth looking into Frank Chambers death to see if there’s proof of a connection to the other victims,” Maria said and both JJ and Reid nodded.

 

“It certainly wouldn’t hurt and we may find more clues than the other scenes, if this death truly was her first kill,” JJ said, before giving Ed and Al an apologetic look. “I think we really should get back to the office and brief Fuhrer Grumman about everything.” Ed felt a pang of guilt as he realised he hadn’t given Grumman a second thought or what he might be going through after learning his only grandchild had been kidnapped. At the same time, he didn’t really want to leave Al’s side, despite knowing he would be perfectly fine. He would admit that part of that was because of his protective big brother nature but also because he was little worried this woman would come back to kill Al before he could identify her. Maria seemed to realise his struggle.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, I believe I should stay here to act as Alphonse’s guard until further notice. Since the criminal is still at large and she has already threatened Alphonse with bodily harm, I believe a guard would be prudent,” she said respectably and Ed could’ve honestly hugged her in that moment.

 

“Thank you, Miss Maria. I’ll call Major Armstrong once I’m in the office and request for Master Sergeant Brosh to join you as soon as he can,” Ed told her and she nodded before giving him a grin.

 

“At least we’ll be guarding the Elric most likely to stay out of trouble,” she commented teasingly.

 

“You’re never going to let go of that, are you?” Ed asked jokingly as the others laughed. Maria’s response was cut off by Al letting out a surprised gasp.

 

“I forgot something,” Al said as he dug through the bedside table and produced his bloody and torn clothing contained in a plastic bag. He tore the bag open and pulled out his jacket, rifled through a pocket and handed something to Ed. “Miss Riza gave me this before that woman dragged her away,” Al explained as Ed took them. He recognised the material immediately and was soon holding up a pair of Mustang’s flame alchemy gloves.

 

“Huh,” Ed said as he checked them over for anything. “She must’ve continued carrying his spare pair out of habit or something. It’s probably a good thing she gave them to you though, Al,” Ed said as he placed them safely in a pocket. “If that woman really is an alchemist and she found those gloves, she probably would’ve given them a try and that wouldn’t have ended well for anyone,” he explained before someone could ask why.

 

“That was very smart thinking on her part, especially with what was happening at the time,” JJ praised her before standing up. “Ed, I don’t want to seem pushy but we really need to go. Every minute counts,” she told him and Ed nodded in agreement. Both he and Reid stood up at the same time. “We’ll come and visit you as soon as we can and we’ll try to keep you in the loop as much as possible,” JJ promised and Al nodded, giving the blonde BAU member a smile.

 

“Thanks for visiting, both of you. It was really kind of you,” Al said, giving Reid a smile as well.

 

“I hope you heal up soon,” Reid said with his own smile. Al nodded before turning to his older brother.

 

“You better not get yourself killed trying to find Miss Riza. I know what you’re like so make sure you eat something every few hours and get some sleep. I don’t want to hear that you’ve nearly collapsed from exhaustion because you haven’t looked after yourself,” Al lectured as Ed rolled his eyes fondly.

 

“Yes, mum,” Ed teased, ruffling his brother’s hair, mindful of his wound. Al grumbled at that. “I’ll come see you when I can. Don’t do anything stupid,” Ed said before heading for the door.

 

“That’s my line,” Al called out to him as JJ and Reid left the room. Ed grinned at his brother before saying another goodbye to him and Maria and shutting the door behind him. Ed didn’t move for a moment before he turned to face JJ and Reid.

 

“Right. Let’s figure this out and finally close this case,” Ed said. JJ and Reid nodded and followed behind Ed as he headed away from his brother’s hospital room. 

* * *

 

Ed had fully intended on heading straight for the office before talking with Grumman so that he could see if those he’d sent to the crime scene were back yet or not. He planned on dragging them to Grumman’s office with him so he could hear what they’d found and so Grumman would get the entire report in one go. His plans, however, changed when they almost literally ran into Fuery, Breda, Havoc, Hotch, Morgan and Rebecca on the way to the office.

 

“Ed! How’s Al?” Fuery had been the first out of all of them to recover from the almost collision.

 

“He’s alright, considering. They’re keeping him in hospital until they take his stitches out, just to be certain he’ll be okay. Considering his condition after Promised Day, the doc wanted to make sure this didn’t set back his recovery since he’s not 100% still,” Ed told them. Fuery, Breda and Havoc nodded understandingly. They knew everything that had happened, after all, while the others only got some of the story.

 

“Al’s tough. He’ll be out of hospital before you know it, chief,” Havoc assured him, clapping Ed on the shoulder. Ed gave him a bright smile. “What do you want us to do now?” Havoc asked, gesturing to the lot of them.

 

“We’re heading to Fuhrer Grumman’s office. You’re coming with so we can give him the whole report and so neither of us have to tell our reports twice,” Ed told them. When he received no complaints, he led them to Grumman’s office. 

* * *

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Samantha said in surprise when they opened the door and filed into Grumman’s outer office. “How’s your brother?” She asked as she climbed to her feet so she could open the doors that led to Grumman’s inner office.

 

“He’s good. Just needs to stay in hospital for a little bit,” Ed told her, secretly happy at the level of concern Samantha was showing for his brother. “We need to talk to Fuhrer Grumman. Anyone else in there?” Ed asked, jerking his chin towards the doors.

 

“No, Sir. Fuhrer Grumman cancelled all meetings when word of Captain Hawkeye and Alphonse reached him. He ordered me to let no one except for you, your team or Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes team inside,” Samantha told him and Ed sighed in relief. With the mood he was in right now, he knew it wouldn’t end well if, say, Combes or Widdon were inside.

 

“Thanks, Samantha. Would you be able to do me a favour? I meant to when I got to my office but we ran into these guys part way and came straight here,” Ed asked sheepishly, well aware that Samantha wasn’t his secretary and had no obligation to help him.

 

“What do you need, Sir?” She asked.

 

“Can you call Major Armstrong and ask him to send Sergeant Brosh to the hospital to guard Alphonse’s room in conjunction with Lieutenant Ross, please?” Ed asked and Samantha nodded immediately.

 

“Of course. I’ll do that while you’re talking with Fuhrer Grumman,” Samantha said, not-so-subtly opening the door so they could go in.

 

“Thank you, Samantha,” Ed said, gratefully as he led everyone inside. Samantha gave him a smile before closing the door behind them.

 

“Edward,” apparently they weren’t going to using formal titles today, “what have you found out?” Grumman asked the moment he identified who’d walked into his office.

 

“Al woke up and told us everything. He suffered no memory loss and he’s expected to make a full recovery,” Ed told Grumman, not upset at the fact that the Fuhrer hadn’t asked after Al. He was obviously far more worried about Hawkeye and Ed couldn’t fault him for that. “He told us that a woman stopped them on their way back to the office after walking Black Hayate and lured them into the alley with a promise that she had information that could help us with our investigation. Al said that Miss Riza and himself felt like it could be a trap but decided to follow her on the off chance it wasn’t. The woman pulled a gun on Al and threatened him if Miss Riza didn’t follow her orders. Alphonse said that once Miss Riza had discarded her own weapons, the woman had ordered her to follow her out of the alley and for Alphonse to stay there for ten minutes before he could leave. Al decided to fight back and used alchemy to get the woman to drop her weapon but not before she fired a shot. Thankfully, the bullet missed both of them and Al proceeded to engage their attacker in a fight,” Ed told Grumman, who looked like he sighed a little bit in relief. “They fought and the woman hit Al with a lucky shot that sent him stumbling back and giving her the opportunity to grab her gun and pistol-whip him in the side of the head. That’s when he went down and the woman was able to kidnap Miss Riza by threatening Al once more. Al said he tried to get back up but he lost consciousness shortly after.” Grumman sighed and seemed to age ten years in those few seconds.

 

“Did the woman give any reason for why she would want to kidnap my granddaughter?” Grumman asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Sort of. All the woman said was that it had something to do with Miss Riza’s father and that she’d done too much, killed too many people to let Al beat her now. Miss Riza was able to check on Alphonse and slip him the spare pair of Mustang’s gloves that she carried with her and tell him that this had something to do with both Mustang and her father and that we’d need to talk to Mustang,” Ed told him and Grumman didn’t look happy about this.

 

“My son-in-law is long dead. I do not understand why this whole situation would have anything to do with him,” Grumman ground out. “What else did you learn?” Grumman asked after a moment.

 

“That Captain Bryce may not have been her first victim,” Ed told him. “Al said she claimed to have killed six people. We have to go through the case file to be sure but Al and I believe that the sixth victim may have been Frank Chambers, the State Alchemist assessor murdered four months ago,” Ed said and Grumman nodded in recognition.

 

“Yes, I remember hearing about that. Why wasn’t he considered a victim in the first place?” Grumman asked, looking at the BAU members in the room as well as Ed.

 

“I forgot about him. Mustang and I were asked to investigate but because of who the victim was and because Mustang and he had been fighting, Mustang didn’t think it was ethical for him or me to find out who killed him. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes wasn’t assigned the case and the coroner who performed the autopsy wasn’t the coroner assigned to the five known victims. No one made the connection,” Ed told him.

 

“Members of our team will be asking the lead investigator for the case files and going over them to see if Frank Chambers could truly be the first victim of this killer. If he is, she may have left unintentional evidence behind when she killed him that could lead to her identity and, hopefully, to wherever she is holding Captain Hawkeye,” Hotch smoothly interjected into the conversation. Grumman nodded in agreement.

 

“Who was the lead investigator?” Grumman asked and Ed gave him Granger’s name. “I’ll call her and have her sent up the case files to your office immediately,” Grumman promised. “What did you learn from the crime scene?” He asked, looking at everyone as he really only knew for certain that Edward hadn’t attended the crime scene.

 

“Edward had me, Lieutenant Havoc, Warrant Officer Fuery and Rebecca head straight to Captain Hawkeye’s apartment when Rebecca showed up in the office asking for Captain Hawkeye as they were supposed have met up a half hour or so before and Hawkeye had never showed. We’d already grown concerned by that stage ourselves but I think the general consensus had been that Hawkeye and Alphonse had run into Rebecca and lost track of time. When we learned this wasn’t the case, Edward had us check Hawkeye’s apartment for Black Hayate. We left immediately to do so,” Morgan explained.

 

“Why send them to the apartment rather than start searching?” Grumman asked Ed.

 

“I figured if Black Hayate was in the apartment, it would mean that they were attacked on the way too or on the way back from her apartment. If he wasn’t there than they were likely attacked during the walk. Once we knew which scenario was more likely, we could start searching along Miss Riza’s routes,” Edward told him and Grumman nodded.

 

“What happened next?” Grumman asked, directing this question to the four who’d been at the apartment.

 

“I called Ed to tell him Black Hayate was in the apartment when the call was interrupted by Ed getting the news that Al was in the hospital. Once he’d gotten the news, he ordered us to find the crime scene and help investigate while he went to the hospital to see what Al had to say,” Havoc answered this time. “We arrived just as Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes and his team did. When he learned that Al had been attacked and Captain Hawkeye was presumed missing, he couldn’t let us on the crime scene for fear the defense could claim we contaminated it or planted evidence against the defendant. He did, however, tell us that he would inform us of everything they found the moment they found it. It was long after they started investigating that Agent Hotchner and Breda joined us,” Hotch nodded in agreement with Havoc’s statement.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes saw us join the others and walked over to greet us. He ended up agreeing to let myself and Agent Morgan look at the crime scene ourselves once the evidence and photographs had been collected and taken,” Hotch told them. “They recovered a bullet in the alley – I assume the one fired at Alphonse – and sent it for testing. They also recovered fibres, blood spatter evidence and fingerprints that were sent to the crime lab with the bullet. Three guns, presumably belonging to Captain Hawkeye, were recovered a short distance from where Alphonse was found. They’d taken samples from the homeless person who found Alphonse and I believe Brookes sent someone to the hospital to collect any samples from Alphonse when we left to brief you, Fuhrer Grumman,” Hotch said, dipping his head towards Grumman. “Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes also had people out interviewing businesses and any by-standers but none of them had come back before we left. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes asked me to let you know, Fuhrer Grumman, that he will have a report ready for you as soon as possible,” Grumman nodded in thanks for Hotch passing along the message.

 

“What do you need from me?” Grumman asked, specifically looking at Hotch and Ed.

 

“We’re gonna talk to Mustang and figure out what he knows about Miss Riza’s father and how both of them might be connected to this woman. While we do that, hopefully the case files on Chambers will be delivered to Mustang’s office for us to go over. If we’re lucky, Brookes will have some sort of report for us to go over as well. After that, it’ll be up to wherever the evidence leads us,” Ed told him.

 

“Alright. I’ll place the call to Lieutenant-Colonel Granger once you leave and have her take everything related to the Chambers murder to your office immediately. You have my express permission to speak to me no matter what I’m doing, who is with me or the time of day. If I leave my office before you find Riza, you have my permission to come to my home if you need me for any reason,” Grumman told them, completely serious and leaving no room for arguments.

 

“Yes, Sir,” Ed said, bowing slightly. “We’ll go talk with Mustang, by your leave,” Ed said and Grumman nodded, waving them towards the door.

 

“Edward?” Grumman called before Ed made it out the door. Ed nodded to Morgan, who had hesitated following the rest when Ed was called back and the dark-skinned man continued. Ed turned to look at Grumman. “I am pleased to hear your brother didn’t have worse injuries. I hope you’ll pass along my well-wishes to him?” Ed flashed him a smile.

 

“Thank you, Sir. We won’t stop until we’ve gotten Miss Riza back and have this woman in custody,” Edward promised and Grumman gave him a knowing smile.

 

“I know. I’m glad you’re as protective of Riza as you are of Alphonse. You should get going,” Grumman said and Ed was slightly startled. He didn’t realise that others had noticed how his protective nature didn’t solely apply to Alphonse, Granny Pinako or Winry anymore. He couldn’t say anything in response so he simply nodded sharply once before leaving the room.

* * *

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, I just wished to tell you that I reached Major Armstrong and he has promised to send Sergeant Brosh to the hospital immediately,” Samantha said as Ed hurried to catch up with the others, who were waiting on the other end of the room. “He also wanted to pass along a message to you saying that he would stop by Alphonse’s hospital room when he next visits Lieutenant-General Armstrong.” Ed did not envy his brother in that moment. Hospital visits from the major tended to be not very conducive for healing. The only silver lining was that Maria and Brosh would be there to hopefully stop Armstrong from stripping.

 

“Thank you, Samantha. I really appreciate you doing that,” Ed said but Samantha waved away his thanks and they exchanged goodbyes. When Ed joined everyone else at the doors, no one said anything as he led them out of the office and down the corridor.

 

“Who’s going with you to tell the bossman?” Havoc asked and Ed stopped, turning to face them all.

 

“You, Hotch and Morgan,” Ed told him. “I need the rest of you to go back to the office and wait for those files and Brookes’ report. Miss Rebecca,” he looked at the woman who was Hawkeye’s best friend, “I’m not sure what you want to do. I wouldn’t say no to you staying with us and talking with one of the agents to see if you can tell us something that Miss Riza told you that might help. I would, however, really appreciate it if you could look after Black Hayate, no matter what else you do?” Ed asked and Rebecca gave him a warm smile.

 

“I’d be happy to talk to any of your team if you think it would help and I’ll look after Hayate too,” Rebecca told him and Ed smiled, relieved.

 

“Thanks, Miss Rebecca,” Ed said before looking at Havoc, Morgan and Hotch. “Let’s go talk to Mustang now. If we leave it any longer, we risk him hearing about it from the guards as gossip, if he hasn’t heard anything yet.” Ed really hoped he hadn’t. He knew that if their situations were reversed, he would not be happy learning Alphonse had been kidnapped through gossip.

 

As they headed for the holding cells, Ed couldn’t help but feel worry. He barely even heard, acknowledged and offered his own goodbye when those who weren’t accompanying him branched off from his group to head back to the office. Part of him – the rational, logical part of him, anyway – knew that his worry that Mustang would somehow think this was his fault was misplaced. After all, he hadn’t known Hawkeye was going to be kidnapped or Al was going to be beaten up and he certainly had no clue who did it. Still, he couldn’t stop that irrational part of himself from whispering in his mind that Mustang was going to hate him and blame him for this.

 

Ed found himself missing the comfort of his bond with the Voltron Lions in this kind of situation because they always knew what to say when his mind went down this kind of self-deprecating path and always had been quick to refute any kind of argument he made to defend those thoughts when they weren’t warranted. With an internal sigh, Ed continued leading the three others to the holding cells, mind in turmoil about how Mustang would take the news.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 –**

The walk to the holding cells was done in silence, which Ed both appreciated and despised as it meant they weren’t talking about what happened but it also meant it left him alone with his thoughts. He missed the looks Havoc and Morgan exchanged and the look Hotch gave him when he thought no one else was looking. If he had seen them, he’d know that his thoughts and worries were written all over his face. So lost in his thoughts, Ed didn’t notice that they were only a few metres from the entrance of the holding cells until he felt someone squeezing his left upper arm and looked up to see Hotch looking back at him.

 

“You alright, Edward?” Hotch asked, worry tinging his voice. Ed felt the familiar mix of warmth at someone showing they cared and embarrassment that he hadn’t been able to hide his worry as well as he’d hoped.

 

“Yeah. Just thinking,” Ed told him, giving him a half-smile. Technically, Ed wasn’t lying but he knew Hotch wouldn’t be fooled into thinking it was as simple as that. Thankfully, Ed didn’t have to find out whether Hotch would confront him over the half-truth because they’d reached the front entrance. Ed nodded to the soldier who stood guard outside before stopping in front of the sign-in desk where they’d need to state who they were, who they were visiting and hand over any and all weapons.

 

“I apologise, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, but I can’t permit you to visit former General Mustang,” the soldier at the desk told him and Ed froze, confused.

 

“Is that because visiting hours are over?” Ed asked, already feeling like he knew what the answer would be.

 

“No, Sir. General Widdon and General Combes ordered that no one would be permitted to visit the former general until his trial date started,” the soldier said, a little nervously now.

 

“What time was that order placed?” Ed asked, eyes flashing dangerously. The soldier gulped before he answered.

 

“A little after 1:00pm, Sir,” the soldier told him and barely stopped himself from flinching when Ed’s eyes turned molten gold in his anger.

 

“You got a phone I can use?” Ed asked and the soldier looked a little thrown by the question before realising he was asked a question by a superior officer and hadn’t answered it yet.

 

“Yes, Sir. Here,” The soldier invited him around his desk and gestured to the phone. Ed picked up the receiver and dialled angrily, glaring at the phone as it rang. He ignored Havoc’s whispered ‘oh, he’s real mad’ and the soldier’s fidgeting.

 

“Samantha? It’s Edward. I need to talk with the Fuhrer, please.” Ed didn’t ask and he didn’t bother hiding his anger but he did make sure he stayed courteous while he spoke on the phone. It wasn’t Samantha’s fault. “Thanks,” Ed said when Samantha said he was being transferred and it was only a moment later that Ed heard Grumman’s voice on the other line. “Widdon and Combes placed a ban on Mustang getting visitors after our meeting didn’t go their way. We can’t get in to talk to him unless we force our way through.” Ed didn’t even wait for Grumman to say anything, which he now realised was probably rude but he didn’t care.

 

 _“I’ll deal with them in a few minutes. For now, please put the soldier at the sign-in desk on the phone,”_ Grumman sighed.

 

“Thanks, Fuhrer Grumman,” Ed said before handing the phone to the soldier, who looked at the receiver like it might bite him. “It’s just the Fuhrer,” Ed scowled at him. The soldier still looked scared but he took the phone and Ed immediately joined back up with the others. He gave Morgan and Havoc’s amused grins a confused look. “What?” He asked, a touch defensively.

 

“’It’s just the Fuhrer?’” Havoc repeated Ed’s statement, voice filled with mirth. “Do you know how unusual it is for someone below the rank of general to actually see the Fuhrer, let alone talk to him?” Havoc asked and Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“Grumman’s fine as long as you don’t annoy him,” Ed grumbled. Morgan let out a breathy chuckle but didn’t say anything.

 

“Of course, Fuhrer Grumman. I apologise for the inconvenience this has caused you,” the soldier said before flushing at whatever Grumman replied with. “Thank you, Your Excellency. Have a good night,” he said before hanging up the phone in a little bit of a daze.

 

“Well?” Ed said, reminding the soldier they were there. The soldier jumped a little guiltily before pushing the incomplete paperwork towards them.

 

“The Fuhrer has overruled the generals. You’re welcome to visit former General Mustang. I apologise for the inconvenience,” the soldier stammered as he collected the side arms carried by everyone except Ed while Ed signed himself in. The blonde stepped back to let the others near the sheet.

 

“It’s not your fault those two idiots keep trying to throw their rank around. Gods, I wish I could be there when Grumman rips them a new one,” Ed muttered that last part to himself.

 

“Thank you, Sir. You’re welcome to go through now.” The soldier seemed to have gotten over his nervousness now that he knew he wasn’t going to be blamed for anything. Another guard had joined them at a wave from the soldier at the desk and the group followed him to the cell that held Mustang. Ed could feel his nerves warring with the anger he felt at the generals, getting stronger the closer they got to the cell.

 

“Fullmetal?” Mustang looked shocked to see them and Ed knew that he would’ve teased the older man in any other situation. “What happened?” Mustang asked, obviously picking up on the serious vibe.

 

“Open the cell and let us in,” Ed ordered the soldier, ignoring Mustang for the moment.

 

“Sir, I don-“ The guard started saying but Ed didn’t want to hear excuses right now.

 

“Either you unlock this cell or I do and trust me when I say that I’ll make it as expensive and difficult for the military to fix as I possibly can. The Fuhrer is already in a bad enough mood. Do you want to add to it?” Ed snapped, eyes blazing ferociously. He felt a little bit bad for snapping at the guard for doing his job but this wasn’t the sort of conversation that should be had with bars in between him and Mustang.

 

The soldier scrambled for his keys and fumbled through them before selecting one and inserting it into the lock, twisting it and swinging the cell open. He kept one hand on his weapon but Mustang didn’t move and the four visitors simply entered the cell. Ed gave the soldier and the cell door a pointed look and the guard was quick to shut it and lock them in. Ed didn’t even have to ask the man to give them space; he was already moving to a respectable distance away.

 

“What happened, Fullmetal?” Mustang demanded, standing up straight and Ed noted he hadn’t lost any of his usual arrogance.

 

“Look, keep your cool,” Ed told him, glancing to his left and right to make certain the others were on hand in case something happened. “Something happened this afternoon. Al and Miss Riza were confronted by the killer on their way back from walking Black Hayate. Al fought her but she got a lucky hit in and knocked him unconscious. He’s in hospital and he’ll be fine, eventually,” Ed told him and he saw the way Mustang stiffened until he made a passable statue with every word Ed spoke. “Miss Riza was kidnapped and from what Al told us, we think kidnapping her was the second half of this plan,” Ed said and then held his breath for the fallout. He noted that Havoc – and Morgan when he noticed Havoc – stiffened slightly, ready for anything.

 

“What do you mean she’s been kidnapped?” Mustang asked, voice shaking slightly with the amount of force behind keeping it level and calm.

 

“I mean that the person behind the murders and your arrest tricked Miss Riza and Alphonse,” he couldn’t help but slightly emphasise his brother’s name here in case Mustang missed that the first time, “into an alley, held my brother hostage before fighting and knocking him out before kidnapping Miss Riza for some reason,” Ed told him and he couldn’t stop himself from taken half a step back at the anger whirling in Mustang’s eyes.

 

“How the hell did you let that happen?” Mustang hissed and Ed’s eyes widened as his mouth parted to let out a shocked and hurt gasp.

 

“What the fuck did you just say?” Ed snarled, subconsciously resorting to his go-to attitude to hide any hurt he felt. He saw Havoc open his mouth, probably to act as peace-keeper between the two before this situation could get out of hand but Mustang cut him off.

 

“I left this team, _my_ team, under your command so you could keep them safe while you investigated this and now my captain is missing – kidnapped! – because you didn’t keep up your end of the deal!” Mustang growled at him, visibly trembling in his fury and Ed wondered vaguely whether he would’ve felt less hurt if Mustang was yelling. “Did you decide to send her into something without investigating it properly first? I knew you were reckless, Fullmetal, but even I didn’t think you were so stubborn to investigate things properly that you would put Hawkeye in danger like that! I thought you would’ve learnt your lesson after Maes!” The sharp inhales from Havoc and Ed weren’t enough to stop Mustang from spitting out one more thing. “I hope you realise that anything that happens to her is on you,” Mustang snarled at him.

_Crack!_

Mustang's restraints rattled as he was sent reeling back into the sink. With his hands bound, he stood no chance at catching himself as he stumbled off the small basin and nearly onto the floor, the right side of his jaw throbbing viciously in pain, the hit causing his vision to white out momentarily.

 

When he blinked and got his vision back, Edward was standing there, breathing a little heavily. His golden eyes filled with hate, hurt, anger and – for some reason – a little bit of victory. Mustang saw him shaking his left fist loosely and was quick to realise that he had just been punched by Edward. Hotch’s mask had remained passive but Mustang could see the disapproval and disappointment in his eyes. Morgan didn’t have any problem letting Mustang see the anger he felt on his face before he turned to Ed, blocking the blonde from Mustang’s view. Havoc looked shocked and he refused to meet Mustang’s eyes and Mustang had a feeling it would take a while for Havoc to respect him more than he was supposed to as his subordinate once again.

 

Mustang felt shame flood his system and his face and neck grew uncomfortably hot and prickly as he went over the words he’d spat at Edward in his anger. The punch had had the likely intended effect of snapping him out of his shock and rage to make him think a little more clearly. Mustang opened his mouth – to apologise or demand more answers, he didn’t know – only to be interrupted by the guard rushing over, drawn to the cell from the commotion.

 

“Is everything alright?” He asked, eyes scanning the room and stopping on Mustang. More specifically, the bruise Mustang could feel forming on his jaw.

 

“Everything’s fine, thank you, Sergeant Munroe,” Mustang assured the man before Ed could say anything. He didn’t miss the blonde’s eyes glance at him before they focused back on Morgan who had moved to the side a little at the blonde’s nod but Mustang saw the way the agent kept himself surreptitiously in between them.

 

“Miss Riza told Al something before he lost consciousness and she was taken. She told him this had something to do with her father and that we should ask you. Why?” Ed said. If you didn’t know the blonde well, you wouldn’t have heard the slight tremor in his voice that betrayed how hurt he truly was, despite his seemingly unphased demeanour. When he met Mustang’s eyes, all the older alchemist could see was the determination to get to the bottom of this. But Mustang didn’t miss the way that Ed twitched minutely away from him when he straightened up from his slouch.

 

“Captain Hawkeye’s father was my alchemy teacher. I think she told you that?” Mustang looked at Morgan, who nodded a little stiffly.

 

“She did. She told me he’d become more paranoid the longer he developed his research,” Morgan divulged and Mustang sighed.

 

“I wasn’t raised by the man like she was so I don’t know what he was like during her early childhood. What I do know is that after her mother passed away, Master Hawkeye neglected her in order to focus everything on his research. He is the alchemist who developed fire alchemy and he devoted decades to perfecting it.” Mustang heard the slight gasp of surprise from Ed but when he looked up to meet his eyes, they were focused on Morgan’s back. The only positive he could take in that situation was that it appeared that Ed was in deep thought rather than avoiding him.

 

“I met Hawkeye when she was a teenager and we became good friends. There was some jealously at the start of our relationship as I was receiving more of her father’s attention than she had in a long time but we worked through that and, like I said, we became good friends,” Mustang told them. “I was an apprentice under Master Hawkeye for many years but he never deemed me trustworthy and capable enough to begin learning flame alchemy. I still studied under him, learning what I could about basic alchemy. I joined the military despite my teacher’s less-than-approving views on it. After a couple of years, I went back to Master Hawkeye and asked him to teach me fire alchemy so I could join the State Alchemist program but he turned me away, telling me he’d never teach someone fire alchemy so they could use it to benefit the military.” Ed wanted to ask about how he learned fire alchemy if his teacher didn’t train him in it but right now, he just wanted to get this over with so he could go back to the office and find Hawkeye.

 

“Al said the woman screamed at him about not letting him keep her from getting what she deserved. That you had stolen something from her and that Miss Riza’s father had kept something from her,” Ed said. “What did she mean by that?” Mustang shook his head.

 

“I’m not sure. What did this woman look like? Did she give her name?” Mustang asked and Ed looked at him like he was an idiot.

 

“No, she didn’t give him her name,” Ed scoffed. “Al described her as roughly your height but thinly built with brown eyes and brown hair cut short and pinned to show her face. There was also a scar on her right shoulder that Al glimpsed when her shirt exposed it during the fight. She’s an alchemist with two arrays; one on each wrist but we don’t know what arrays. Al said she seemed soft-spoken at first but there was something unsettling about her that made Al and Miss Riza not trust her completely. She lured them into the alley with a promise she had information that could help you,” Ed told him, jaw set stubbornly in a silent dare for Mustang to blame him for that too.

 

“I don’t think I know anyone who fits that description who I would’ve thought capable of all of this or who could’ve been connected to my teacher,” Mustang told them with a sigh. But then something sparked an idea in his mind. “Master Hawkeye, towards the end of his life, used to rant about untrustworthy apprentices trying to steal from him. He’d go into these long, massive rants about keeping his research from the wrong hands, from _her_ hands, and keeping it hidden.” A glance at Ed told Mustang that the blonde had immediately figured out where he was going. “I never asked what Master Hawkeye was talking about as I figured these were just the ravings of a sick and paranoid old man. I also never thought to ask if he’d taken on an apprentice before me,” Mustang said and that was the moment it clicked for everyone else.

 

“You think it’s possible this woman is a disgraced former apprentice of your alchemy teacher,” Hotch stated and Mustang nodded.

 

“The only thing Master Hawkeye could have taught me that someone couldn’t learn from another alchemist was my flame alchemy. There’s no reason to believe that in the years between Master Hawkeye first developing flame alchemy and when he took me on as an apprentice that he didn’t have others who didn’t – for whatever reason – prove themselves worthy enough for Master Hawkeye to pass along his teachings,” Mustang told them and Ed was nodding along in agreement.

 

“You said your alchemy teacher passed away?” Morgan asked and Mustang nodded. “Where are his notes and whatever else he had on flame alchemy?” Morgan asked.

 

“He destroyed them shortly before he died,” Mustang told them. “He decided that they were too dangerous and he went insane trying to figure out a way he could keep them so safe that no one but he – or those he’d already entrusted with it – would know the secrets of fire alchemy and be able to abuse that power.”

 

“Does Captain Hawkeye know how fire alchemy works?” Hotch asked.

 

“No, she’d not an alchemist and she refused to speak with her father about anything. She knows the general idea behind how I use it from her years of having my back during missions but no, she couldn’t tell this woman anything helpful,” Mustang told them but Hotch and Morgan picked up on the way he’d carefully worded that.

 

“Is there any way this woman would be able to use Captain Hawkeye at all to gain the knowledge to use flame alchemy?” Hotch pressed. Mustang eyed him up, assessing him and they could see the way he was weighing something.

 

“What I tell you does not find its way into official reports. In fact, you don’t write it down anywhere and you do not tell anyone. Havoc, that means the rest of the team does not find out about this,” Mustang warned him and waited for the four of them to nod. “Before he died and after he destroyed his life’s work, Master Hawkeye tattooed the secret to flame alchemy onto Hawkeye’s back so that she could give someone the secrets if she truly trusted them and so his work wasn’t completely eradicated. In fact, that’s how I learned flame alchemy. I studied the tattoo.” Ed looked disgusted while Havoc, Morgan and Hotch looked shocked at the revelation.

 

“So, this woman likely thinks that Captain Hawkeye knows the secrets of flame alchemy because of her relationship with you and her father. I’ll hazard a guess from your words that the fact that Captain Hawkeye has that tattoo is not common knowledge?” Hotch asked, merely needing the confirmation.

 

“Only Master Hawkeye, myself and Captain Hawkeye knew about it before now,” Mustang confirmed. “It also isn’t common knowledge that Master Hawkeye destroyed all of his personal and research notes shortly before his death. I would believe it’s safe to assume this woman thinks that – as his daughter – Hawkeye would have all of his notes hidden away somewhere.”

 

“If that’s the case, she may try and break into Miss Riza’s apartment to find them. I’ll need to organise for someone to go over and guard her place. The case files on Chambers should be back at the office by now so I can send Falman and maybe Miss Emily since I won’t need their help looking at those files though Miss Rebecca is staying at Miss Riza’s apartment with Black Hayate so maybe they’d be enough to guard it,” Ed was muttering to himself or maybe to Morgan but what he said caught Mustang’s attention.

 

“Chambers case files?” He asked and Ed’s eyes flicked up at him. Ed’s eyes were blank and Mustang felt that like a punch to the stomach.

 

In all the years he had had Ed under his command, the only time Edward had ever kept his emotions so well hidden was in the immediate aftermath of the cover up death of Lieutenant Ross. The time between Ed finding him in that alley and when Mustang ordered him to accompany Major Armstrong had been spent with Ed leaving the room any time Mustang walked in or blankly staring at him when Mustang had to give him orders.

 

“The woman was yelling things before she struck Al down, including a claim that she’d killed six people. Since General Armstrong, Al and Miss Riza were all alive when she said it, we didn’t know who she meant. Miss JJ had asked if it were possible a sixth victim had been missed since it had taken until Summers death for Brookes to realise that he was connected to Bryce’s and Pardi’s deaths. Al had vetoed that idea since there had been no deaths similar to them before Bryce reported and it would’ve been something we would’ve heard about it but then I remembered Chambers,” Ed explained. “When I thought about it, I realised he fit the victim profile and I know that Granger hasn’t managed to figure out who killed him. We’re going to go over the case files to see if he could be the true first victim because if so, it could mean that the woman left behind some evidence that could lead to us figuring out who she is,” Ed told him.

 

“Why don’t you and Lieutenant Havoc head to the office and see if those files are there?” Morgan suggested and Ed blinked at him owlishly. “Reid and Sheska could use the help of an alchemist going over them and Hotch and I still need to ask Mustang a couple of questions,” Morgan reasoned.

 

“You guys can’t go anywhere without a military escort though,” Ed said, obviously reluctant about leaving them but eager to get to the case files and – if Mustang hadn’t read the quick glance Ed gave him wrong – eager to get away from him. The bruise on Mustang’s jaw throbbed in time with the stab of guilt he felt in his heart.

 

“How about you just wait at the sign-in desk than? We shouldn’t be too long and we need to ask more about the tattoo, which I imagine Mustang will be more comfortable talking about without you or Lieutenant Havoc here to hear it,” Hotch suggested instead. Ed narrowed his eyes at the two BAU agents before nodding.

 

“Fine. Sergeant Munroe?” Ed called, remembering the name Mustang had used before. The sergeant came over to the cell immediately. “Havoc and I are gonna wait at the sign-in desk. These two still have more questions,” Ed told him and Munroe nodded, unlocking the cell door.

 

“Will you be alright heading there by yourselves, Sir?” Munroe asked, obviously hesitant to leave the two agents alone with Mustang, as regulations told him that he shouldn’t leave someone in a holding cell with an accused criminal without a guard present but he also didn’t want to disrespect Ed by not offering to escort him.

 

“We’ll be fine,” Ed assured the man with a dismissive wave but a friendly smile. “Come on, Havoc. Let’s leave them to do their thing,” Ed said, looking back at the lieutenant and the agents. Havoc followed the blonde out of the cell, both nodding to the sergeant who was quick to close the door behind them and lock it up again with a resounding click.

 

“Ed…” Mustang said and he firmly believed it was only the use of the blonde’s first name that had him stop as he and Havoc went to leave.

 

“I’ll get Miss Riza back and we’ll get you out of here. Don’t worry,” Ed told him, meeting his eyes properly for the first time since he punched the older alchemist. Mustang saw the resolution, determination and regret in his eyes and knew the blonde had taken his words to the heart. Before he could say anything, to try and get Ed to see he wasn’t mad at him, didn’t blame him and was so sorry for what he said, that he never meant any of it, Edward and Havoc disappeared from his sight. Mustang barely noticed that Havoc hadn’t looked at him when he left. 

* * *

 

“You alright, Chief?” Havoc asked quietly once they were out of eye-sight of the cell. Havoc was hovering – and he knew it – behind Ed, barely leaving enough room between the two of them to walk without stepping on each other.

 

“Mm-hm,” Ed hummed, not looking at Havoc. He was replaying what Mustang had said.

 

No matter how hard he tried to focus on something else, Mustang’s voice just kept replaying everything the man had said before Edward punched him. That punch had felt good and Ed would readily admit that. His knuckles and wrist still smarted slightly from landing the blow and Ed knew he’d never regret it. But what he said, particularly about Hughes, that had struck deep and Ed hadn’t wanted the Lions or his brother more in that moment. He hated how vulnerable that confrontation had left him feeling.

 

“Chief?” Havoc said, sounding uncharacteristically soft and serious. Ed glanced up at him just as Havoc grabbed him by the flesh arm and made him stop walking. “You know what Mustang said wasn’t true. It was just him lashing out because he was hurt and even more emotionally constipated than your brother claims you are.” That earned him a chuckle from Ed. “It’s not your fault that Alphonse got hurt and that Hawkeye was kidnapped and if you try and blame yourself than you have to blame all of us as well. We all knew the same things you did. We may not be a genius like you,” Havoc ruffled Ed’s hair and got a half-hearted protest for his troubles, “but we’re still pretty smart and none of us thought that Hawkeye might be a target.” Havoc could see his words were having some sort of affect on the blonde and decided to address the final elephant in the room while he could. “That goes for what he said about Hughes, as well.” He felt the way Ed’s shoulder stiffened under his arm. “Maes Hughes wasn’t killed because of you, Ed. You know this,” Havoc told him and Ed let out a shaky breath as he let Havoc's words sink in.

 

“Yeah, I know. Thanks, Havoc.” Ed smiled up at him and Havoc grinned back before wrapping an arm completely around Ed’s shoulders and walking him forward once more. 

* * *

 

There was silence in the cell as they waited for Edward and Havoc to put enough distance between them so they wouldn’t accidentally overhear the occupants in the cell. Hotch still had his completely neutral mask in place and Morgan had managed to quell his anger enough that it wasn’t pouring out of his very being.

 

“What more do you need to know?” Mustang asked when he realised it would be up to him to get this conversation going.

 

“Where on Captain Hawkeye’s back is this tattoo positioned?” Hotch asked, surprising Mustang enough that he visibly reacted. He had not actually expected this conversation to have anything to do with Hawkeye’s tattoo and everything to do with Edward. It had been evident by the end of their second inter-dimensional trip that the BAU had all but adopted the blonde. Heck, he was certain the NCIS team had been ready to adopt him.

 

“It’s centred in between her shoulder blades, just below her neck. It takes up roughly half her back,” Mustang told them.

 

“If this woman saw the tattoo, would she be able to learn the secrets it holds? Or is it encoded enough that it would take her a while?” Hotch asked, his voice still professional while Morgan just stood next to him, arms crossed over his chest.

 

“If it was still whole, I wouldn’t be able to answer that with any accuracy. The answer would depend solely on the alchemist studying the tattoo. Someone like Fullmetal or Alphonse could have it figured out in a few days, maybe weeks. For other alchemists, it could take months, years, decades. Some could study it every single hour of every single day for the rest of their lives and not come close to figuring it out,” Mustang told them.

 

“’If it was still whole’?” Hotch repeated. Mustang nodded.

 

“Years ago, Captain Hawkeye came to me and asked me to help her destroy the last remnants of her father’s research notes. When I asked why, she told me she never wanted anyone else to become a flame alchemist because of what she witnessed me doing in Ishval during the civil war there. Despite her problems with her father, it hurt her to see his life’s work used to kill the Ishvalans, to hurt or kill anyone. She didn’t want there to be a chance for someone else to use flame alchemy in such a way and I agreed. I knew that what I’d done in Ishval was horrific and there’s rarely a day that goes by where I wish I had never learned flame alchemy when I did so I burned a portion of the tattoo badly enough that the ink below was destroyed,” Mustang told them, refusing to show any guilt he still felt over causing Hawkeye that much pain. He still remembered the scent of burning flesh, Hawkeye’s writhing, sweat-soaked back and her bit-off, pained screams like it had happened yesterday. “Even if Hawkeye told her about the tattoo or she somehow saw it, she wouldn’t be able to learn anything from it,” Mustang said. He saw the disbelief and shock on their faces but he didn’t say anything more to defend his and Hawkeye’s decision.

 

“If this woman doesn’t know that your alchemy teacher has destroyed all of his research, would Captain Hawkeye tell her or would she try and send her somewhere to be caught?” Hotch asked and Mustang answered immediately.

 

“She’d tell her that the notes had been completely destroyed. If this woman was truly an apprentice of Master Hawkeye, she would know the man almost as well as I or Hawkeye. He wouldn’t leave his notes unprotected and his house had been sold when he died. Hawkeye will not risk civilians by telling her the notes are at my house or her apartment. Hawkeye won’t take the risk that this woman would see through her suggestions of a warehouse or an abandoned, isolated house and take her frustrations out on someone else to coerce Hawkeye into cooperating,” Mustang said with complete confidence. “She also will not tell her about the tattoo, if that was your next question.”

 

“It had been,” Hotch admitted before looking questioningly at Morgan, who shook his head in answer. “That’s all the questions we have on the subject on Captain Hawkeye’s tattoo,” Hotch told him.

 

“However, that’s not the end of our talk,” Morgan told him, speaking for the first time in a while. Mustang knew this would be the conversation he’d originally been expecting when Hotch had asked Ed and Havoc to step outside.

 

“I know what you’re already going to say and I agree completely,” Mustang told them as he sat on the edge of his cot and looked at his bound hands. “I screwed up. I don’t even know why I said any of that to him because I certainly didn’t mean a word of it.” Mustang sighed. “I’ve probably just destroyed any of the trust I’ve earned from Fullmetal and set our relationship back beyond square one. I know Havoc certainly isn’t going to forgive me anytime soon and I’m positive he’ll make sure the rest of the team knows what happened so Fullmetal can’t play it off as nothing,” Mustang told them with another sigh.

 

“We’ve trained for years and gained immense amounts of experience in reading peoples behaviour. Not just the behaviour of a criminal but also the behaviour of a victim, bystander, friend or enemy so that we can tell whether we’re being told the truth and to pick up clues on why they might be lying to us, as well as other things. We know you didn’t mean a word of what you said,” Hotch told him, voice turning slightly understanding and a touch warmer. “Even Edward knows you didn’t mean what you said, logically. However, you used your knowledge of him, your relationship with him, to strike at every weakness you could when you lashed out and those aren’t wounds that are going to heal soon,” Hotch kept talking. “You knew he would blame himself for Alphonse being hospitalised and Hawkeye being kidnapped and you knew about the guilt he felt over your best friend’s murder and you made sure you hit each of those points with a few well-worded sentences.” Hotch likely had more to say but Mustang interrupted him.

 

“I know what I did and I regret every single word I said! You have no idea how badly I wish I could take every horrible thing I said to him back!” Mustang exclaimed, glaring at them, daring them to try and disagree.

 

“We know. We saw what your body language and demeanour said after Edward punched you and your head cleared enough to realise what you’d done,” Hotch reminded him. Mustang calmed down a little at that.

 

“We just wanted to make you realised how badly you fucked up,” Morgan told him bluntly. “You are going to have one hell of a time trying to make this up to him. Not to mention, his brother and your team once they find out because you’re absolutely right; Havoc is going to tell them what happened because Ed sure as shit won’t.” Mustang wasn’t surprised at how well they already knew his subordinates.

 

“Keep an eye on him. Without his brother or Captain Hawkeye there, he’ll work himself to exhaustion, especially after what I said,” Mustang sighed regretfully as he hung his head for a moment before meeting their eyes again. “You said so yourself; he logically knows I didn’t mean what I said but he’s still going to ignore his logical mind and work himself to the bone in some sacrificial way to keep his word to me. I don’t want him to get himself hurt trying to prove himself to me because of what I said,” Mustang damn-near begged them.

 

“We’ll do our best,” Hotch swore. “In the meantime, if you get any suspicious letters or notes or you think of anything that can help us figure out who this woman is, any off-hand comment your teacher made or something, you let us know immediately,” Hotch ordered and Mustang nodded in compliance.

 

“We’ll keep you in the loop as much as we can,” Morgan promised, any residual iciness gone from his attitude in the wake of Mustang’s obvious regret and guilt. Hotch walked over to the cell’s door and signalled to Munroe, who walked over immediately.

 

“We’ll talk with you when we have something more,” Hotch told him as he and Morgan left the cell, moving out of the way so Munroe could lock the door as quickly as possible. “And we’ll keep an eye on him,” Hotch said, not needing to name who he meant.

 

“Thank you,” Mustang said sincerely and watched as Munroe escorted Hotch and Morgan away.

 

He moved himself further up his bed so he could sit on it and lean up against the wall, the back of his head thudding gently onto the smooth concrete. His jaw was now simply aching constantly and Mustang knew that if he looked in a mirror that he would see an impressive bruise there. He hated the fact that he was stuck in this cell while one of his oldest friends was somewhere alone and with a killer who has proven she’d stop at nothing to get what she wanted. He felt the restless and insistent urge to get up, find some way to break out and go look for her and he had to constantly remind himself that he couldn’t. He was powerless to help Hawkeye and he knew it.

 

While half of his mind was stuck on Hawkeye and the torturous thoughts of not knowing what was happening to her and the dark corner of his mind conjuring images of things the killer could be doing to her, the other half was stuck on the look on Ed’s face as Mustang had snarled those horrible words at him. That heart-wrenching look of shock, hurt and betrayal would stay with him forever and Mustang knew it was the least he deserved.

 

Since he couldn’t go anywhere or do anything to help his team or Hawkeye, he decided he would be spending however long he would remain in this cell trying to figure out a way he could start rebuilding the trust and respect he’d lost with Edward, Alphonse, his team and the BAU agents. He would start with an apology and he knew that while the apology would not be an instant fix of what he’d broken, it would be a good start. 

* * *

 

Munroe was following behind the two agents but the three didn’t exchange words as the sergeant walked them back to the sign-in desk. Both Havoc and Ed were sitting in the waiting chairs with Havoc sitting on Ed’s left, arm draped over his flesh shoulder. Ed, for all intents and purposes, looked resigned and annoyed to being used as a leaning post but Hotch and Morgan could see him leaning into the touch ever so slightly. The two stood once they noticed the BAU agents and their escort.

 

“All done?” Ed asked and Hotch nodded, meeting the two Amestrians at the sign-in desk after a quick ‘thank-you’ to Munroe for escorting them.

 

“Yup. Talked about what we needed to talk about,” Morgan told him, smirking at Ed’s suspicious look as he reclaimed his weapon. He knew the blonde knew that discussing Hawkeye’s tattoo hadn’t been the real reason they wanted him and Havoc to leave the cell. He also knew the blonde wouldn’t say anything because it would involve him admitting that what Mustang had said hurt far more than he was willing to admit.

 

“Alright. Let’s head back to the office then. The case files should definitely be there by now,” Ed told them, waving goodbye to the soldier manning the desk, startling the soldier enough that he didn’t remember that he should’ve saluted Ed until after the blonde and his group were already walking past the guard at the front entrance.

 

“Did Mustang tell you anything we should know?” Ed asked as they walked down the familiar path to the office.

 

“Nothing you need to worry your genius mind over, blondie,” Morgan assured him, ruffling Ed’s hair and laughing at Ed’s growl as he threw his arm around his shoulder and squeezed him into his side for a brief hug before releasing Ed so he could fix his mussed-up hair so it didn’t cover his eyes. Ed glared at him through his blonde bangs before looking away from Morgan and returning to the chatter that Havoc had started up but he couldn’t stop the small, happy smile that formed from the subtle shows of solidarity and affection he just wasn’t used to from anyone who wasn’t his family. 

* * *

 

When Ed and the others entered the office, Ed not only saw the promised case files sitting on the desk but realised that Lieutenant-Colonel Granger was still in the office, sitting at one of the desks and talking with Falman. She immediately got to her feet and offered her hand to the newcomers.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” she greeted, shaking his hand before turning to the others and introducing herself to them. Once she was done shaking hands and releasing Havoc from his salute, she turned back to Ed. “I heard about your brother and Captain Hawkeye. As requested, I’ve brought every scrap of information, evidence, test result, everything we’ve collected on this case in the last four months. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything from me or my team,” she offered and Ed gave her a thankful smile.

 

“Thank you for your offer. I was wondering if you would be able to sit down with Lieutenant Havoc and Miss Prentiss to discuss your investigation tonight?” Ed asked and Granger nodded amicably.

 

“I’m waiting for a report to come in tonight but I’ll be happy to talk with them as long as they are willing to speak in my office?” She asked, looking at Havoc and Prentiss.

 

“That’s alright with us,” Havoc said. Prentiss nodded her own agreement to the plans.

 

“Excellent. If the two of you will follow me, we’ll head there now. Good luck, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric.” Granger said as Havoc and Prentiss moved to join her.

 

“We’ll be back once we’re finished speaking with Lieutenant-Colonel Granger.” Prentiss assured Ed, who just nodded as the three of them left the office.

 

“How’s Alphonse?” Sheska asked the moment the door shut and Ed nodded as he sat down in his chair.

 

“He’ll be fine. Minor wounds, for the most part. His head wound was as minor as a head wound can be. Doc Evans wants to keep him in the hospital until his stitches are out though,” Ed told them and saw a lot of relieved expressions.

 

“That’s good to hear,” Sheska said with a smile that Ed returned.

 

“Yeah,” Ed said before straightening and looking at the strewn papers. “How’s the reading going?” He asked, changing the subject.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Granger only dropped the files off a few minutes ago so we haven’t really started,” Fuery told him apologetically. “She did mention that there had been a lot of people they’d interviewed in the original investigation. Apparently, General Mustang’s sponsored applicant wasn’t the only one turned down for reasons that shouldn’t have mattered under Fuhrer Grumman’s new laws.” Ed groaned in annoyance.

 

“At least we’ll be able to cut down those interviews to just focus on women,” Ed said, trying to be the optimist that Al forever claimed he wasn’t. The lack of surprise from those who hadn’t been with him in Grumman’s office told him that they had been told by those who went straight to the office rather than the holding cells what they’d discovered.

 

“I’ve already read through the initial report and autopsy report but I did notice something that seemed different to the other murders,” Reid said, effectively gaining their attention.

 

“Would you like to share with the class, pretty boy?” Morgan teased, causing Reid to glare at him.

 

“I was about too,” Reid sniffed at him before continuing. “The autopsy reports show that Frank Chambers was beaten to death. There was no carbon monoxide discovered in his blood to indicate he was still breathing when he was set on fire and the fire was less concentrated on him than it was on the other victims,” Reid told them but even Ed frowned at that last part.

 

“What do you mean by ‘less concentrated’?” Ed asked as he started pulling the files towards himself to read through.

 

“Well, I noticed that the accelerant used on the original five victims was poured over their top half. That’s where the majority of the most severe burns were concentrated. Their lower halves suffered less severe burns because the fire wasn’t fed by the accelerant and burned out when it ran out of fuel. But Frank Chambers suffered major burns to the majority of his body. I think that the unsub suffered a mental break over something and Chambers was the unfortunate person she took her anger out on.” Ed deflated for a moment.

 

“So, it’s likely Chambers was just a random victim and it was a coincidence he and Mustang were fighting at the time?” Ed asked. Surprisingly, Reid shook his head.

 

“You’re thinking that there won’t be a connection between Chambers and the unsub, right?” Reid asked and Ed nodded. “I’d be surprised if that were the case,” Reid said honestly. “When someone this organised is suffers a mental break like this, they don’t lash out at the first person they come across; they’re far more likely to lash out at the first person with whom they have a problem with that they come across. The amount of overkill in this murder also tells us that the victim and the unsub knew each other and that the unsub felt slighted by the victim,” Reid explained and Ed sighed in relief. At least that was one thing in their favour.

 

“So why would the unsub kill Chambers in such a violent manner?” Falman asked. “She didn’t do that to the others. Even Henley and Andrews didn’t die as violently and they were the ones who fought back.”

 

“Like I said, she suffered a mental break. Something happened that night that caused her such anger that she snapped and Chambers was unfortunate enough to have slighted her in some way and be the first person she held a grudge against that she came across while she was in that snap,” Reid told them. “Was there anything that you can think of that might have happened the day Chambers was believed to have been killed?” Reid asked and Ed’s eyes flicked to the date the report said Chambers was found.

 

“Yeah, General Bastard’s promotion was announced that afternoon. I think it was made public on the evening news that night,” Ed told them.

 

“It makes sense that that could trigger her,” JJ said. “Even if Captain Hawkeye’s capture was her endgame, the level of thought, detail and patience that went into these murders and attacks shows that the unsub also had a personal reason for putting Mustang in jail and it wasn’t just so she would be able to kidnap Hawkeye without the threat of Mustang searching for her.”

 

“Did Mustang give you any clue about why this woman would want to kidnap Hawkeye?” Rossi asked.

 

“Yeah, we believe that it’s likely this woman was once an apprentice, likely a failed one, of Mustang’s alchemy teacher who was also Hawkeye’s father,” Hotch told them. “Hawkeye’s father developed fire alchemy and Mustang told us that he absolutely refused to teach anyone the art unless he thought they were worthy enough. He even refused to teach Mustang flame alchemy and shortly before his death, Hawkeye’s father destroyed all of his notes. From the way Mustang was telling us, I don’t think it was well-known to those who knew who taught Mustang that Mustang wasn’t actually taught flame alchemy by his teacher,” Hotch divulged.

 

“Al did say that the woman claimed that Mustang had stolen something from her,” Reid mused. “It’s possible that if this woman was turned away from Hawkeye’s father before she could learn fire alchemy and she believed that Mustang was taught fire alchemy by her teacher, she would believe that Mustang somehow tricked her former teacher into sharing the secrets of flame alchemy with him,” Reid told them.

 

“So, all of this was because she thought her and Mustang taught him flame alchemy and not her?” Ed asked, disbelief evident in his voice.

 

“It could be,” Rossi said. “We won’t know for certain until we find evidence to support this theory or she tells us herself. We don’t know for certain that this woman was an ex-apprentice of Hawkeye’s father. Mustang has said that it’s not common knowledge who he trained under so it’s possible that Hawkeye was kidnapped because she’s the closest to Mustang and therefore most likely the one Mustang would have divulged the secrets of flame alchemy to. You said so yourself that you’ve been kidnapped numerous times because people thought that as an alchemist working under Mustang, he shared the knowledge for using flame alchemy with you. It could be possible that she thought that Hawkeye was her safest bet since it is well-known that you don’t know anything about fire alchemy.”

 

“But you don’t think so,” Ed said, eyeing the BAU knowingly.

 

“No. This woman was too personally invested in making certain that Mustang was not only the only suspect in these murders but made it so the Fuhrer – someone who has openly stated they do _not_ believe Mustang is guilty – had no choice but to issue an arrest warrant for him. To go to the lengths she did to make sure he would be arrested and likely found guilty tells us that she is getting revenge on something Mustang has done personally to her, whether he knows what he did or not,” Morgan explained. “If she simply wanted Mustang out of the way, I doubt she would’ve gone to so much trouble as to space out the murders and choose the victims she did. I believe even the generals would’ve been hard-pressed to deny that Mustang wasn’t the kind of person to go on a random killing spree for no reason.”

 

“Despite the fact that Mustang and Chambers did have an altercation earlier that was still unresolved, I believe his death says more about the killer than the killer’s plan,” Reid butted in. “Chambers and Mustang’s fight was well-known, according to Granger’s notes, but it was also well-known that they were using legal means to resolve it. Unlike the situation with Henley where it wasn’t well-known that you and Mustang were about to bring charges against her so the public and the rest of the military were under the impression that your investigation into her hadn’t provided the results you wanted.”

 

“So the fact that Chambers was killed out anger and that his and Mustang’s issues with each other were being dealt with publicly tells you that Chambers was killed because of a problem he had with the unsub and not just because he had an issue with Mustang?” Ed asked.

 

“Actually, it would be more accurate to say that Mustang didn’t factor into Chambers death for any reason except news of his promotion being the trigger. I’d be willing to bet that Chambers still would’ve been killed even if he and Mustang didn’t have that argument,” Reid told him and Ed sighed a little.

 

“Okay so I guess the first thing we should do is re-interview all the women that Granger interviewed. If we can somehow narrow it down to women who were likely to have a grudge against him, we should interview them first,” Ed said, looking at the folders curiously. “No chance that Granger did us a favour and create a list of people who held grudges against Chambers?” Ed asked jokingly but to his surprise, JJ nodded.

 

“Actually, Chambers did it for us. He was very meticulous in his record keeping,” she told them. “Granger told us that he kept notebooks filled with the names and details of any applicant for the State Alchemy program whose application he looked at as well as the reasons for his denial if he did deny them a spot in the military. He also kept records of any threats or problems he had with anyone. His last entry was actually his dealings with Mustang,” JJ told them as she dug through a box and held up a notebook with a grin. Ed wasn’t the only one who looked happy with that news.

 

“How many notebooks are there?” Ed asked and JJ grimaced slightly.

 

“There are dozens of notebooks that started from his early years in the military. The bulk majority of his notebooks contain information about the State Alchemist hopefuls,” JJ said. “Unfortunately, he’s assessed hundreds of applicants but we can rule out everyone in the last year at least, I believe,” Hotch nodded in agreement.

 

“Definitely. Our unsub likely wouldn’t have started planning this before Promised Day. This kind of meticulous planning was fuelled by years of hate,” Hotch told them.

 

“Why would she choose now to do all of this? If she’s spent years hating Mustang – and I don’t blame her there – why didn’t she do anything about him when he had less sway with the military?” Ed asked, face pinched in confusion.

 

“It’s possible she was waiting for something significant to happen in her life first. Some self-imposed deadline, if you will,” Rossi said and Fuery’s face lit up in understanding.

 

“Like when I tell myself I can have a coffee once I’ve finished a certain amount of reports?” He asked and JJ nodded.

 

“Exactly like that,” JJ said with a smile. “It’s also possible that something else prevented her being able to enact on her revenge like an injury or simply not being in the same area as Mustang. It’s unlikely that she was injured enough for it to take years before she was able to do all of this. Any injury that debilitating would be permanent, like paralysis, or would have some kind of lasting damage to the nerves or muscles that Alphonse would’ve noticed during his fight,” JJ told them.

 

“So, this deadline passing was like the first trigger?” Ed asked, trying to see if he’d gotten it right.

 

“You could say that,” Rossi agreed. “Normally triggers aren’t planned but yes, you could say she used achieving her goal as the first trigger.”

 

“Okay. How do you want to proceed with this case?” Ed asked, looking at Hotch.

 

“I want you and Sheska reading the notebooks,” Hotch told Ed immediately. “Once Reid has read through the case files with JJ and Falman, he can join you two. Rossi, you and I are going to read through the interviews already conducted and recorded by Granger. Fuery, I’d appreciate it if you would take Morgan to the labs tomorrow and see how the tests are going. Morgan, I need you to ask them about the tests they did for this case as well but in the meantime, read over the lab reports then help the others. Breda, for the moment, I just want you to bounce between whoever you think needs help,” Hotch ordered and received nods.

 

“Don’t forget you lot need to stay on top of your paperwork. Miss Riza won’t accept her kidnapping as the reason for us getting behind on it and she will shoot you,” Ed warned the Amestrian men, who blanched and nodded. Ed grinned as he hopped up and moved towards a box, pulling it towards Sheska and sitting down once more. He rifled through it and grabbed two notebooks and handed one to Sheska. “Shall we?” He asked as he opened the second notebook he held and settling in his chair. 

* * *

 

Prentiss and Havoc were happy enough to follow Granger quietly through Central Command. There were a couple of soldiers who they passed, despite how late it was getting, who recognised Prentiss from seeing her around the base while she was interviewing people. It was obvious they were a little bit curious about why they were with Granger when she hadn’t been involved in the original investigation and Brookes had never interviewed her during his investigation but they evidently decided to just stay curious rather than ask.

 

“Most of my team has gone home for the night but my second-in-command, Lieutenant Snyder, should still be here,” Granger explained as she stopped at a door, opened it and allowed them inside.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Granger,” the sole occupant of the office called out in a greeting as he stood with a salute.

 

“Snyder.” Granger gave her Lieutenant a smile and nod, indicating he could drop his salute. “I don’t know if you’ve had the pleasure of meeting them before but these are Lieutenant Havoc and Miss Emily Prentiss, one of the specialist consultants hired by former General Mustang’s defence,” Granger introduced them and Snyder nodded as he shook their hands.

 

“Yes, I think I’ve seen you around the last couple of days while you were on your way to interviews,” Snyder said with a grin and Prentiss barely held back her groan at the reminder. Havoc looked like he was struggling not to remember either while Granger looked a tiny bit sympathetic.

 

“We’ll be in my office, Lieutenant. Please let me know immediately when that report turns up,” Granger instructed and Snyder nodded.

 

A few moments later, they were walking into Granger’s office. Unlike in Mustang’s inner office, Granger’s didn’t have bookshelves lined with alchemic texts. Rather, she had a few shelves lined with case files and a few books that Prentiss thought might relate to forensic science or something similar. There were plenty of loose manila files on Granger’s desk, stacked in some sort of order. Granger walked behind her desk and indicated for the two of them to sit down in the leather armchairs which was something else her office didn’t have in common with Mustang’s office; he had couches, not armchairs.

 

“Thank you for agreeing to take the time to allow us to interview you about your investigation into Frank Chambers death, Lieutenant-Colonel Granger,” Prentiss said as she took her seat, pulling her notepad and a pencil out and getting ready to take notes.

 

“My pleasure. What would you like to know?” She asked, leaning back in her chair slightly as she watched them.

 

“The first thing I’d like to know is whether you ever established a prime suspect?” Prentiss asked and Granger sighed a little.

 

“We never identified anyone who we would’ve considered a prime suspect. There were several people who were suspects but we ruled them out from lack of evidence, them having alibis or other such reasons. Frankly, if I hadn’t requested that former General Mustang join me at the scene and he hadn’t recused himself and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric from the case, I would’ve considered him my prime suspect. At least until I interviewed him,” Granger told them.

 

“Why wouldn’t he have been considered a suspect after the interview?” Prentiss asked.

 

“Well, he had an alibi. He was celebrating his promotion with his team that night, in a part of town quite a considerable distance from the crime scene and no one told us of him disappearing for a significant amount of time that would’ve allowed him to murder Chambers and rejoin the celebration,” Granger said, giving Havoc a look that encouraged him in corroborating what Granger said.

 

“The team was invited to Gracia Hughes’ home for a home-cooked dinner in celebration of Mustang’s promotion. The chief put on a big show of being annoyed by it,” Havoc told Prentiss.

 

“Gracia Hughes is the lady Edward and Alphonse live with, yes?” Prentiss asked, just for clarification and Havoc nodded. “Alright. I imagine you created a list or something of the like that listed those suspects you mentioned?” Prentiss asked and Granger nodded.

 

“Yes. It’s in one of the newer boxes,” Granger said and Prentiss marked that. If they wanted to find Hawkeye quickly, identifying the suspect was number one priority in doing that and a list of those the original investigator found most suspect would definitely help them.

 

“Excellent,” Prentiss said before moving on. “Did your investigation uncover any reason behind why Chambers would turn away so many applicants? I saw the number of notebooks you handed over with the case files and one of my colleagues told us that most of them contained the details and reasons behind whether an applicant was approved or rejected,” Prentiss questioned and Granger nodded.

 

“When we heard about Chambers habit of turning away applicants for insignificant reasons, we looked deeper and we uncovered a pattern,” Granger told them. “It seemed that Chambers was under the impression that any alchemist whose specialty was as an earth alchemist was turned down so long as they also had something like a criminal history or an injury that just barely severe enough to warrant denial, like a broken limb. If a State Alchemist hopeful also happened to be recommended by a general Chambers wasn’t friendly with – or at least tolerated – their application would be denied for some flimsy reason.” It was obvious Granger hadn’t been impressed with Chambers reasoning.

 

“Why earth alchemists?” Prentiss asked and Granger shrugged slightly.

 

“We never really found out but we believe it was because earth alchemy is one of the more common alchemies and Chambers didn’t believe it was enough to warrant an applicant’s approval. He did approve some if they had a clean medical, criminal and psychological histories because he didn’t have any other reason to turn them away, so long as their alchemy would be beneficial to the military,” Granger told them.

 

“We’ve heard that there had been a change in the rules governing why an applicant couldn’t be approved for the State Alchemy program under Fuhrer Grumman’s ruling and that applicant’s had been rejected by Chambers for things that shouldn’t have held merit under these new rules. Would you explain the changes?” Prentiss asked.

 

“There were several rule changes but I’ll explain the more significant ones,” Granger said. “Obviously, one of these changes were to the rules about criminal histories. Under the late Fuhrer Bradley’s reign, no alchemist with any criminal history, no matter how minor, could be approved for the State Alchemy program. Fuhrer Grumman’s new rule is laxer in allowing those with a criminal history. Clearly someone who has a laundry list of serious crimes will be refused but someone with a minor charge or misdemeanour on their record shouldn’t – under Grumman’s new rule – be automatically rejected. Another new rule is that if an applicant wishes to be a field alchemist, like Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, but for some reason fails the physical required or their alchemy wouldn’t be suited to a field role, they would be offered a research role related to their chosen specialty whereas under Fuhrer Bradley’s rule, they would be rejected immediately,” Granger went on to say.

 

“While technically forbidden under Fuhrer Bradley’s rule, discrimination was something that still happened amongst the State Alchemy assessors however assessors didn’t _have_ to provide a reason for their rejection of an applicant, even if it was highly encouraged they did so. Under Fuhrer Grumman’s new rule, legitimate reasons for rejection must be given and any reason that was considered discriminatory would result in disciplinary action taken against the assessor,” Granger informed them.

 

“Mustang informed us that a State Alchemist hopeful he’d personally recommended was turned down by Chambers for a reason that Fuhrer Grumman’s new rules should have prevented. Am I correct in assuming this applicant wasn’t the only one rejected for a reason with similar holding?” Prentiss asked and Granger nodded. “Did your investigation show what would’ve happened to Chambers if Mustang had been able to go forward with his allegations?”

 

“He would’ve been dishonourably discharged should Mustang’s allegations had been found true. Some of those we interviewed also indicated that they too would’ve given evidence against Chambers that would’ve supported Mustang’s claims. If he hadn’t been discharged, I imagine that he would’ve been encouraged to retire early, at the very least,” Granger told them, sounding a little annoyed that that didn’t get to happen.

 

“Were there any threats made against Chambers that stood out for you more than others? Maybe someone repeatedly threatened him or a threat seemed like it was more than empty words?” Prentiss asked, moving the interview along a little.

 

“Oh, he had hundreds of threats made against him during his career,” Granger told her. “Half of my team spent the first three weeks of our investigation solely locating and interviewing – or arranging for the Investigation Unit in our sister cities to interview someone – everyone mentioned in his notebooks or by his co-workers.” Granger had felt bad for her investigators who had been assigned that duty but she didn’t envy them. “There were maybe a dozen people who were dedicated enough to send frequent threats for a few years and they were all interviewed but we cleared them because they either had an alibi or weren’t in Central at the time. Any threat that seemed to be more than empty words, as you say, were investigated and all of them were cleared as well. Like I said, there wasn’t a lack of evidence in this case but there wasn’t enough helpful evidence either and that severely limited out ability to find the murderer without an eyewitness, irrefutable evidence, a confession or any combination thereof,” Granger told them and Prentiss nodded.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes and my team can sympathise with that,” Prentiss said solemnly. “I do have a description of the suspect thanks to Alphonse Elric and a preliminary profile that I can give you if you think you might be able to remember enough of the interviews to be of help?” Granger opened her mouth to reply just as a knock sounded at the door. She cast an apologetic look at Prentiss and Havoc before calling for whoever was on the other side of the door to enter.

 

“Sorry to interrupt, Lieutenant-Colonel Granger, but that report you were waiting for has arrived,” Snyder said, holding a report up in his hand to support his reason for interrupting.

 

“Wonderful,” Granger said as she gestured for him to bring it to her, flipping through it quickly when he did to make sure it was all there. She went to dismiss him when she realised something. “Lieutenant, you conducted some of the initial interviews for the Chambers case, correct?” She asked and Snyder nodded. “If you wouldn’t mind, Miss Prentiss has a description and preliminary profile of the person believed to have attacked Alphonse Elric and Captain Hawkeye and who may be behind Frank Chambers murder and possibly connected to the crimes former General Mustang is accused of that I would like you to hear,” Granger told him and Snyder nodded.

 

“I’d be happy to help however I can,” Snyder told them, moving to stand next to Granger as he spoke.

 

“Thank you, Lieutenant Snyder,” Prentiss said before flicking through her notebook to the appropriate page. “Alphonse Elric has described his attacker as a woman aged in her mid-to-late thirties with shoulder-length brunette hair worn pinned back from her face. She has brown eyes and is of average height but slight build. She is an alchemist believed to work for the military but not as a State Alchemist and she wore two cuffs, one on each wrist, with a different array on each. She wore civilian clothing but Alphonse glimpsed a scar on her right shoulder, just before where her neck joins her shoulder. She is left-handed and does have training in hand-to-hand combat but hasn’t kept up with her training in recent months. She may have shown open hostility towards General Mustang, Captain Hawkeye or Frank Chambers during your interview and she may have mentioned something about fire alchemy.” Prentiss was happy to see that Snyder and Granger were actually paying attention to what she was saying.

 

“It is also possible that she showed regret during your interview with her regarding Frank Chambers. She wouldn’t have shown guilt but she may have shown signs of regret. We believe that she had never intended to kill Chambers but had suffered a mental break that night when she heard some news she had taken badly. Since we also believe she didn’t like Chambers and likely had a grudge against him for some reason, she wouldn’t have felt guilty over her role in his death but she would’ve likely regretted it as she may have left evidence behind as she wouldn’t have been thinking clearly,” Prentiss told them and waited patiently as both Snyder and Granger mulled over what she said and applied it to interviews they had conducted.

 

“I can give you a list of maybe half a dozen people I can think of off the top of my head but we can also present that information to my two co-workers who had also conducted interviews to see if they remember anyone else when they report for duty tomorrow morning,” Snyder offered and Prentiss nodded.

 

“That would be immensely helpful. I can write the information out for you to give to them in the morning but I will be happy to take the names you can provide,” Prentiss said gratefully. Snyder nodded in agreement and took her offered notepad – flipped to a blank page – and started writing names before offering it to Granger, who then added a few names herself. Once the notepad was handed back to Prentiss, she wrote out the description and preliminary profile on another blank page, tore it out and handed it to Granger.

 

“Thank you. I’ll have Hollien and Bunker look at this first thing in the morning and I’ll call Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s office as soon as they’ve given me any names,” Granger told them as she took the proffered paper.

 

“We would appreciate that,” Prentiss told her. “There’s only one more thing I wanted to ask you and that was if you received the results to any tests ordered in relation to Frank Chambers murder?”

 

“We received the results about a month ago. There was evidence an accelerant – ethyl alcohol, I believe – was poured over Frank Chambers and that the killer used a lighter to ignite the alcohol as no evidence of the remains of a match were found. Chambers was intoxicated and there was no evidence he fought back before he was struck multiple times however, we did find a button from a military uniform that was not from Chambers jacket. However, the tests run on it revealed nothing helpful,” Granger informed them and both Prentiss and Havoc sat up a little at the mention of the button. If they could prove that button came from the unsub’s uniform, they could prove she killed Chambers, attacked General Armstrong and the five other murders which would be immensely helpful if she didn’t confess to her crimes.

 

“If we have any more questions, Lieutenant-Colonel Granger, would you be willing to speak with us again?” Prentiss asked and Granger nodded.

 

“Of course. I’d be happy to help in any way I can. You’ll be hearing from me in the morning in any case so if you think of any more questions by then, let me know and I’ll work around my schedule as much as I can,” Granger told them, rising from her seat as Prentiss and Havoc did.

 

“Thank you very much, Lieutenant-Colonel Granger. We’ll speak with you in the morning,” Prentiss said as she shook Granger’s hand. “Thank you for your help as well, Lieutenant Snyder,” she said, shaking the hand offered by the lieutenant.

 

“You’re welcome, Miss Prentiss,” Snyder said as Havoc saluted Granger and offered them both his own thanks. “I’ll show the two of you out, if you don’t need me for anything, Lieutenant-Colonel?” Snyder asked and Granger shook her head.

 

“No, you can head on home now if you’re finished for the day. Thanks for staying behind for me,” Granger gave him a smile as dismissed the salute Snyder gave her.

 

“Have a good night, Lieutenant-Colonel,” Snyder said, moving towards the door with Prentiss and Havoc following behind him.

 

“You too, Snyder. Have a good night, Lieutenant Havoc and Miss Prentiss, and good luck with your search,” Granger said as she opened the report Snyder had handed her earlier.

 

“Thank you, Lieutenant-Colonel,” Prentiss said before the three of them disappeared out of the inner office.

* * *

 

Snyder only paused to gather what he needed before he was escorting them out of the office and some of the way to Mustang’s office before offering his own good night and well-wishes for their investigation when their paths separated. They thanked him before continuing on their way.

 

“How much do you want to bet that the chief has already read the entire case file and has a list of suspects for us to interview by the time we get back?” Havoc asked as he lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply.

 

“My bet’s on Edward being one of those assigned to the notebooks,” Prentiss told him with a smirk and Havoc laughed.

 

“Yeah, that would be more likely,” Havoc said agreeably.

 

“So, what happened while you, Hotch, Morgan and Ed were with Mustang? Don’t think my team didn’t notice something had happened the moment you lot walked in,” Prentiss asked, her curiousity she’d been holding onto all this time finally getting the better of her. Havoc’s jaw tightened and his eyes grew hard for a moment before he sighed, exhaling some cigarette smoke.

 

“You can’t tell the chief I told you. He’ll be embarrassed and annoyed if he found out I did, even though I know he knows I will have told you,” Havoc said, inhaling more of his cigarette. Prentiss nodded her agreement in remaining silent and Havoc started talking.


	19. Chapter 19

It hadn’t taken long for Havoc to tell Prentiss everything that had happened when they spoke with Mustang and Havoc had to admit that Prentiss was very good at hiding when she was upset. She had been practically shaking with anger at what Mustang said, even though she knew that anger was a typical response to upsetting news, but she had managed to school her features so well that Havoc was tempted to ask if she’d taken lessons from Edward by the time they approached the office door.

 

“Hey, how’d you guys go?” Ed asked as soon as they walked in. Havoc was a little surprised the blonde had even noticed them walk in since he was in the middle of reading one of the victim’s notebooks.

 

“We got some names to investigate when we gave Granger and her second in command the profile and description but they weren’t the only ones who conducted interviews. I left them the profile and description and they’ll call us first thing in the morning when they’ve given it to the other team members and they get some names,” Prentiss reported and Ed was mildly disappointed they didn’t get all the possible names but he also knew they couldn’t do anything about it.

 

“What were the names?” Ed asked curiously before cutting Prentiss off before she could actually read them off her list. “Actually, you guys can search for the notes on their interviews and read through them,” Ed said, waving his hand towards the boxes before turning back to his notebook, eyes flicking side to side as he devoured the words at an impressive rate.

 

Prentiss and Havoc did as they were told, ignoring the smirks of amusement from some of their team mates as they followed Ed’s orders. Rossi gave Prentiss a smile as he passed them several thick folders filled with notes from the numerous interviews conducted and Prentiss wondered if it were possible to bribe Reid into going through these papers instead. Before she could ask though, she noticed Reid had joined Ed and Sheska and was delving into a pile of notebooks neither had read yet. Internally sighing to herself, Prentiss split the paperwork into two piles and passed one to Havoc before they were joined by Breda. Both Havoc and Prentiss gave him a grateful smile when he offered his help and forked over files from both their piles to the portly man. They consulted the list of names Prentiss had and started going through the files.

 

“What are you and Hotch doing?” Prentiss asked Rossi when she realised the two men were also going over similar looking files.

 

“We had been reading the interview files,” Rossi explained, glancing up at her as he answered, “but we’re going through the case files with JJ and Falman now since the interviews are your job.” Prentiss nodded in acknowledgement of his words before turning back to her own work.

 

The office descended into almost complete silence, broken only by the sounds of papers being moved and the occasional murmured question or comment. Prentiss had made it halfway through her stack of papers and located two names. She’d made the decision to simply find the interviews and put them aside so she could read them once she’d finished going through her stack and it looked like Havoc and Breda were following her lead.

 

There was a total of nine names on Prentiss’ list given to her by Granger and Snyder and by the time she’d read the last interviewee’s names, she’d found three of those on the list. Breda had put a single file aside but he was still working through his pile. Havoc also had three folders in a pile but, like Breda, he was still working through his pile.

 

Despite the fact that they had a list of names, Prentiss knew they would still have to read through all of the other interviews just in case one of them held something of use. She grabbed the first of the three files she’d separated and started reading it in detail. The woman, Diane Tilly, hadn’t had a good relationship with Chambers. According to the interview, their first meeting had basically consisted of Chambers scoffing at the woman when she revealed that she was an accomplished earth alchemist. The man had even gone so far as to imply that Tilly had slept with her assessor in order to be accepted into the State Alchemy program since there was no other reason that he could see an earth alchemist would be accepted. Unfortunately, Tilly had a solid alibi in the form of attending her grandmother’s funeral the Friday Chambers was suspected to have been killed and helping her family sort through the elderly woman’s estate the entire weekend before Chambers body had been discovered.

 

Prentiss was reading through the third interview transcript when the office phone rang, scaring just about everyone in the room. At Ed’s nod, Havoc – as he was the closest to it – picked up the phone and answered it. “Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s office,” Ed flipped the blonde smoker off when the man smirked at him, “Lieutenant Havoc speaking.” Havoc’s smirk slipped into a frown as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. “I’ll put him on for you. Hold for a moment,” Havoc said before holding the phone out for Ed to take.

 

“Hello?” Ed said once he’d walked over so he was within reach of the phone.

 

 _“Edward Elric?”_ The female voice on the other end of the phone asked, sounding a little suspicious and wary.

 

“Speaking,” Ed confirmed, ignoring the curious looks he was getting from everyone.

 

 _“My name is Annie. I’m an employee at Madame Christmas’ bar. I have some information for you regarding Riza Hawkeye. Would you or someone from your team be able to come to the bar tonight to talk with me?”_ Annie asked and Ed felt his heart quicken as the news.

 

“Yeah, I’ll send two people now. They shouldn’t be too long,” Ed promised her.

 

 _“Thank you. Tell them to come through the side door.”_ Annie asked him and he nodded before remembering she couldn’t actually see him.

 

“Okay. Thanks for calling,” Ed said before hanging up the phone when Annie said goodbye. Once the phone was hung up, he faced the room. “Do any of you lot,” he gestured to the Amestrians in the room, “know how to get to Madame Christmas’ bar?” He asked and all of them – minus Sheska – nodded. “Falman, Rossi, can you both go and pay a visit to Madame Christmas and talk to Annie? She says she has information about Miss Riza.” Both men stood up immediately.

 

“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Rossi said as they headed for the door.

 

“Annie said to use the side entrance,” Ed called before they managed to get out the door. Rossi gave him a thumbs up before the door shut behind them. “Do you think it’s too much to ask that they come back with a name and address for this bitch?” Ed asked and the cynical scoffs were as good as any verbal answer. 

* * *

 

Falman didn’t bother going to the military car park for a driver, he just nabbed a set of keys and signed the car out so they didn’t have to wait for a driver or ask someone to sit outside the bar as they didn’t know how long they would be. The drive to Madame Christmas’ bar was a quiet affair, which neither man seemed to mind it. The traffic wasn’t too bad though that was probably due to the time of night but the parking spaces outside the bar were nearly full. Falman managed to grab one of the few vacant ones before turning off the ignition and stepping out of the car, Rossi mimicking his action on the other side.

 

Rossi led them up the side of the building and knocked on the familiar door. They only had to wait a few moments before it opened and were greeted by Annie. “Mr. Rossi, Lieutenant Falman, how lovely to see you,” the dark-skinned brunette that Rossi had met during his interview greeted with a flirtatious smile. She stood back to let them through and Rossi couldn’t help but admire the way the dark green of her dress suited her.

 

“The same to you, Annie,” Rossi said, letting some of his Italian charm show in his smile that had Annie laughing a little as she led them to the same room Rossi had first met her, her employer and some of her co-workers.

 

“You’re a real charmer, aren’t you?” Annie said, grinning as she sat gracefully in the loveseat, crossing her legs and clasping her hands over her knee. She waved an elegant hand at the seats and both men took the hint. “We’ve missed you around here, Vato. You should come by when this whole mess with Roy is cleared up,” Annie gave him a friendly smile that showed no sign of flirting or that the invite was made because it was expected.

 

“I’m sure we’ll likely have problems keeping General Mustang away from the bar once he’s released,” Vato said, amusement evident in his voice even if his expression didn’t show it.

 

“I’m sure you’re right,” Annie said agreeably before her demeanour turned sober. “I called the office because I overheard a few of our customers tonight talking about Riza being kidnapped. Is it true?” Annie asked, gaze boring into both men and her face fell when they both nodded.

 

“A few hours ago, Captain Hawkeye and Alphonse Elric were on their way back into the office after walking Black Hayate, they were approached by a woman who claimed to have evidence that could help our investigation. They were tricked into an alley and attacked. Alphonse was knocked out and Captain Hawkeye was kidnapped,” Falman informed her gently and Annie let out a shaky exhale.

 

“What time was she kidnapped?” She asked and Rossi considered her for a moment before answering.

 

“Alphonse believes it was close to 8:00pm tonight but he’s not completely certain. We were informed Alphonse was in hospital around 9:00pm,” Rossi told her and Annie scowled but Rossi was surprised because it seemed to be aimed at herself.

 

“I was out before my shift officially started here,” Annie waved a hand around the room to indicate she was talking about the bar, “because Madame Christmas asked me to head to one of my co-worker’s apartment to check on her. She hadn’t been feeling well last night and I was asked to drop by her place to see if she would be was feeling better and could work tonight or if I needed to cover her shift,” Annie explained as she uncrossed then recrossed her legs. “As I was walking back to the bar to start my shift, I saw a car driving pass and I glanced up at it. I don’t know why I looked up but I saw Riza in the passenger seat. I’m certain she saw me but the car sped past before I could wave. I assumed the woman driving the car was just one of her friends and that they were heading to dinner or to do some late-night shopping. I thought it was a little odd timing but then figured that she might’ve been getting dinner for everyone or that whatever she was doing needed to be done and didn’t think more of it until I overheard those customers,” Annie told them, sorrow evident in her voice and they could see the regret at not being able to help her friend or even recognise that something was wrong.

 

“Annie, it isn’t your fault. There’s not a lot of people who would’ve been able to kidnap the captain. You know how she feels about the Elrics. If it had been one of us accompanying her, her kidnapper might’ve had a tougher time getting her to cooperate,” Falman said gently. Rossi barely stopped his twitch at the mention of Hawkeye’s feelings for the Elric brothers. He’d have to ask about that later.

 

“Or she would’ve just killed you outright,” Annie’s voice had grown a little thick but she merely cleared her throat before taking a fortifying breath. Falman and Rossi didn’t argue her point. Giving her the moment needed to pull herself together, Rossi then started questioning her.

 

“Can you tell us anything about the woman driving and her car?” He asked, finally pulling out his notepad and writing down the information Annie had already given them.

 

“The woman was brunette but her hair looked lighter than mine. Maybe more of a chestnut colour? The cut was a lot softer than mine though it was a similar length. She didn’t have a fringe like me, rather I think her hair was pinned back or styled back anyway,” Annie told them and Rossi was already scribbling this information down. “She looked annoyed, now that I’m thinking about it, and she didn’t have both hands on the steering wheel like she should have,” Annie told them and both Rossi and Falman had the same thought; she was likely still holding the weapon on Hawkeye.

 

“Do you remember which hand wasn’t on the steering wheel?” Rossi asked and Annie frowned in thought.

 

“I can’t be certain but I think her left hand was on the steering wheel,” Annie told them, uncertainty laced in her voice.

 

“Can you tell us anything about her car?” Rossi asked and Annie gave him an apologetic look.

 

“I’m sorry but cars are not my forte,” Annie told them. “It was a black car and it didn’t look like the military cars or Roy’s personal car,” Annie offered the information almost like an apology.

 

“Did you recognise the driver at all? We believe she is a member of the military and an alchemist,” Rossi told her, hoping the extra information might help.

 

“No,” Annie said after a few moments thought. “She didn’t look like a customer here. We usually only attract male clientele so a female soldier or alchemist would be memorable,” she confided.

 

“Did you get a good enough look at her face that if we found a photo of her, you would be able to recognise her?” Rossi asked and Annie immediately nodded.

 

“Absolutely,” Annie said, completely confident.

 

“Can you tell me the address of where you were when you saw the car and the direction it was heading?” Rossi asked and Annie gave him the information. Once he’d finished writing that down, he stood up and tugged his jacket back in place. “I think we’ve asked everything we can. Thank you for calling us and telling us about this. This is very helpful information,” Rossi told Annie, giving her an honest smile.

 

“I hope you find her quickly,” Annie said as she stood at the same time Falman did. “I can’t imagine Roy took this information well. He and Riza are extremely close,” Annie told them as she smoothed down her dress.

 

“We’ll do our best. When we need you to do a photo line-up, we’ll give you a call,” Rossi told her and she dipped her head.

 

“Just let me know when. I’m sure Madame Christmas will have no objection to me taking a few hours to come into the office,” Annie told them, leading them back to the door and through the hallways. As she leaned against the door that led to back outside the building, keeping it open with her hip, she gave Falman and Rossi a grin. “Make sure that once you’ve found her and gotten Roy out, you come on back. Madame Christmas is expecting the whole team, including the young alchemist you seem intent on keeping away from here. Your team would be more than welcome as well, Mr. Rossi,” Annie told him, her flirtatious smile back in place.

 

“I’m sure we’ll be here. Thank you once again for passing along that information, Annie. If you or any of your lovely co-workers hear anything, please don’t hesitate to call. Someone will always be in the office until we’ve gotten Captain Hawkeye back,” Rossi told her and for a moment the flirtatious smile turned into a grateful one before turning back.

 

“We will. You gentlemen have a good night now,” Annie said before pulling the door shut firmly.

 

The two men headed back to the car in silence. There were a few drunken customers spilling out onto the street by now, no doubt with plans to move on to the next pub or crawl back home but no one bothered them as they approached their car and hopped back in. Rossi didn’t say anything to Falman as the man pulled the car out of the space and pointed it in the direction of the base before heading down the street.

 

“What did you mean when you told Annie that she knew what Captain Hawkeye was like about Edward and Alphonse?” Rossi asked after a few silent minutes of driving.

 

“Captain Hawkeye has an interesting relationship with the two brothers,” Falman told him. “She doesn’t see them as her sons nor as children, in Ed’s case most of the time, but she doesn’t see them fully as adults either. She doesn’t mother them like Gracia Hughes does but she does care about them. There have been a few arguments over the years between Captain Hawkeye and General Mustang when she thought he was assigning Edward missions she thought were too dangerous or too violent for someone of his age. I guess the best way to describe her relationship with them is like their big sister or aunt. She can’t show them much affection because technically Ed is her superior and it would be against regulations but she looks out for them as much as she can and helps them where she’s able,” Falman told him. Rossi pondered this for a few moments.

 

“That’s why she asked Edward to join those who went to the crime scenes rather than join me, Lieutenant Ross and herself when we interviewed Madame Christmas, wasn’t it?” Rossi asked and Falman nodded.

 

“Edward isn’t of drinking age yet and Captain Hawkeye had made it very clear what she’ll do to anyone who takes him to a bar before he’s legally allowed to drink,” Falman said, a slight shudder running through his frame as he remembered that threat. Havoc had it worse since he had been the one trying to sneak Ed into a pub to be his wingman.

 

“Yes, I’ve noticed Captain Hawkeye is especially apt at keeping everyone in line with a mere look,” Rossi commented and Falman snorted.

 

“You haven’t seen her when she’s discovered one of General Mustang’s hiding places for his unfinished paperwork,” Falman said dryly.

 

“I can only imagine,” Rossi said with a chuckle. “Think there’s a coffee shop still open this late at night? No offense to your military sludge but I could go for some real coffee and I’m sure the others would appreciate a cup,” Rossi asked and Falman gave it a thought.

 

“Yeah, there should be one open near the base. We can stop there and grab everyone a cup,” Falman said and Rossi nodded his thanks before letting silence reign once more in the car. 

* * *

 

“You two are blessings to this country and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” Ed said the moment the coffees were set down on the desks in front of everyone. Ed snatched a cup before anyone else could move and drained the hot coffee in almost no time. The Amestris team were far too used to this behaviour to say anything and the BAU had witnessed it a couple of times in America to do much more than shake their heads fondly at his antics.

 

“Glad someone around here appreciates us,” Rossi joked as he took his own seat and placed his own cup in front of him. Falman ruffled Ed’s hair as he passed the blonde so he could take his seat again. “What’d you learn from Annie?” Ed asked, giving Falman an annoyed look as he smoothed out his hair.

 

“She saw Hawkeye being driven in an unknown car by an unknown person after the kidnapping and assault,” Rossi told them. “She didn’t recognise the car or the woman driving it and it sped by too quickly for her to see any usable details. She thought that Hawkeye was with one of her friends, picking up dinner or something until she overheard some customers in the bar talking about Hawkeye’s kidnapping,” Rossi explained.

 

“Alright. At least they’ll know to keep an eye out for the woman and ears open for any rumours surrounding her kidnapping,” Hotch said with a small sigh. Everyone was a little disappointed she couldn’t give them a name or anything.

 

“I called Al’s hospital room to check on him and to make sure Maria and Brosh are okay,” Ed piped up. “Major Armstrong promised them he’d be visiting Al sometime tomorrow morning before he’s due to report for duty. I’ve asked Al to ask Armstrong to draw a sketch of the woman who attacked him. If we’re lucky, Major or General Armstrong or Maria and Brosh might recognise her,” Ed told them but it was obvious he didn’t believe they were that lucky.

 

“How’s Alphonse doing?” Rossi asked and Ed chuckled.

 

“He’s already bored,” Ed told him with a grin. “I promised to stop by when I can and drop a few books off to him.”

 

“That sounds typical of an Elric,” Havoc smirked. Ed flipped him off but didn’t argue.

 

“What books will you take him?” Reid asked and Ed nodded towards the inner office.

 

“I’m gonna steal some of the bastard’s texts,” Ed told him. “I’ll go through them tomorrow when I get the time. Don’t want to accidently give Al any of Mustang’s personal research journals. The bastard will throw a fit,” Ed rolled his eyes before looking up at the clock and realising how late it was. “You guys can go and get some sleep if you need to,” Ed told them but no one moved.

 

“I think we’re good,” Morgan told him with a smirk. “It won’t be the first time we’ve pulled an all-nighter like this.” Ed smiles back before turning to Sheska.

 

“Do you want someone to drive you home, Miss Sheska?” Ed asks and she gives him a big smile.

 

“No, thank you, Edward. I want to help find who hurt Alphonse and took Captain Hawkeye. I’m used to staying up all night as well,” she assures him. Ed takes a moment to realise she doesn’t sound as shy as she had during the first couple of days and was pleased that she had grown comfortable enough around everyone to come out of her shell so much.

 

“If you’re sure,” Ed trailed off and she nodded vehemently so he let it go with a smile. “Okay, then. Let’s keep going. Hopefully, Granger will be ringing shortly with more names and we’ll figure out this chick’s identity,” he said, a little optimistically if he was honest but he refused to listen to the small voice in his head that was telling him they were wrong; that Chambers had nothing to do with the attacks and they were wasting precious time. Instead, he grabbed the notebook he’d been reading and dove right back in, determined to get through as many of these notebooks as possible. 

* * *

 

In what seemed like no time at all and for the second time in the space of a few hours, everyone nearly jumped out of their skins when the trill of the phone ringing sounded in the silent room. Again, Havoc was the one to answer it while Ed swore softly under his breath, cursing the person on the other end of the line. “Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s office, Lieutenant Havoc speaking,” Havoc greeted, somehow managing to sound like he got a full nine hours sleep. “Lieutenant-Colonel Granger, good morning,” Havoc said and the moment he said her name, everyone stopped what they were doing. “Yes, I have a pen and paper,” Havoc said as Falman shoved his pen and some paper towards the smoker. There was silence for a couple of minutes, only interrupted by Havoc’s affirming grunts or clarifications on names. “Thank you for calling us back, Lieutenant-Colonel Granger. We plan on having Major Armstrong visit Alphonse Elric either this morning or later today to create a sketch of his attacker. Would it be alright if we could come by your office to show your team the sketch and see if they can give us a name?” Havoc asked and Ed mentally clapped him on the back for thinking to ask. “Of course. We can give you a call before we plan on coming by. Thank you, lieutenant-colonel. Have good day,” Havoc said politely before hanging up the phone.

 

“How many names did you get?” Ed asked and Havoc scanned the paper in his hand, silently counting.

 

“Thirteen,” Havoc told him. Ed was a little surprised that twenty-two people – including the nine names Prentiss was given the previous night – fit the unsub’s description.

 

“That is a lot of angry women,” Morgan said with an impressed whistle. Prentiss hit him in the arm lightly, causing the dark-skinned man to laugh at her as he moved with the punch.

 

“Breda, Prentiss, Morgan, you three can split that list up between yourselves and find the interviews that go with them,” Hotch instructed, stopping the two agents from delving into bickering. Havoc passed over the list to Morgan before getting back to what he was doing before the phone rang. 

* * *

 

Ed felt like he was never going to finish his pile of notebooks. It seemed like his ‘to read’ pile never seemed to shrink, no matter how many books he actually read. They were left alone in the office for the next few hours, with only two interruptions. The first one had been shortly after Granger’s phone call when an aide dropped of the Amestris team’s paperwork. Ed had frowned at the lack of it but was soon told that Grumman had diverted as much paperwork as he could so the team could focus more on Hawkeye. They’d only been given the most dire paperwork that could only be signed by Ed or his team and absolutely had to be done that day. Twenty minutes later saw Fuery taking their finished paperwork and dropping it off wherever it needed to go.

 

The second interruption had been a phone call from Denny Brosh. At first Ed had thought something had happened when Brosh said it was him calling but that panic lasted the three seconds it took for the man to assure Ed that Alphonse was perfectly fine. The reason for his call was to just let him know that Major Armstrong had come by to wish Al a speedy recovery – Maria had managed to stop Armstrong from stripping – but he apologised when asked if he could do a sketch as he had a meeting with General Brathwaite that he couldn’t be late too. He promised to swing by on his lunch break though so he could sit with Al and work on the sketch. Ed thanked Brosh for passing along the news and told him that he would be dropping by as soon as he could so he could drop some books off to Al before hanging up the phone after exchanging goodbyes with the other man.

 

Around 9:00am that morning, Hotch instructed Fuery and Morgan to head to the labs to see whether there were any results from the tests they still had to run on the evidence from the crimes that Mustang had been arrested for and whether there was anything from the test results Granger had received for the Chambers investigation that matched the results for their original investigation. Fuery had promised he would bring back food and coffee for everyone, for which Ed was grateful for.

 

It still didn’t stop Ed from putting his best puppy eyes to work and asked if JJ wouldn’t mind going to the mess with him so they could get what the mess claimed was coffee for everyone while they waited for Fuery to bring back real coffee. JJ rolled her eyes fondly but acquiesced to his request and they both headed for the mess. Ed knew he was grateful for being able to leave the office for a little while and being able to move about a bit and judging from the look on JJ’s face, she was as well.

 

Armed with numerous cups of coffee, stacked slightly precariously in carry trays, the two of them were heading back to the office a mere twenty minutes after leaving it. Ed had been pretty focused on getting some precious caffeine into his system, draining one cup before ordering a second one for himself, when JJ had asked if he was alright after yesterday. When Ed had asked what she meant, she clarified, saying he’d looked upset after informing Mustang of what happened to Alphonse and Hawkeye. He tried playing it off as just being worried about Hawkeye and angry at what had happened but he wasn’t sure the blonde BAU agent was convinced.

 

Her question had made him realise that this would be the first time since speaking to Mustang that he’d left the office, giving Havoc and Hotch the privacy they would need to give everyone the details of what had happened between him and Mustang. He’d suspected that Havoc had told Prentiss last night on their way back from Granger’s office but neither had said anything when they got back. He knew he wouldn’t have been able to convince the three men who’d witnessed what had happened to stay quiet about it but that didn’t mean he liked the idea of everyone knowing what Mustang had said. He didn’t want them to know what Mustang had said, even if it was all true. He thought he felt a nudge from one of the Voltron Lions but when nothing broke through he just figured it one of them making the barest check up on him, just making sure he was still alive and he felt warmth spread through him at that.

 

“Come get your coffee,” Ed announced as he kicked open the door, startling the BAU members and Sheska who weren’t used to Ed’s violent door-opening ways. JJ was barely able to keep ahold of her own coffee tray, obviously having not expected Ed to open the door that way. The moment the trays were put on the desks, the coffees were claimed, leaving only two sitting in one of the trays that Ed and JJ were quick to grab before they took their seats. “Nothing happened while we were gone?” Ed asked hopeful that some lead came in for them but there were headshakes from everyone. Ed sighed but he had expected that so he grabbed the notebook he’d been reading up once more.

 

“Hey, Ed?” Reid called before he got a few words into the page and Ed looked up, eyebrow raised questioningly so Reid continued. “When do you plan on visiting Alphonse next?” Reid asked and Ed thought for a moment.

 

“After Fuery and Morgan get back. I want to know if they discover anything useful,” Ed told him. “I can bounce everything off of Al and might be able to come up with something. You never know,” Ed shrugged a shoulder.

 

“Mind if I go with you?” Reid asked and Ed grinned at him.

 

“Sure,” Ed agreed easily. He knew Reid and Alphonse got along really well and in all honesty, he likely would’ve asked the young BAU agent to join him anyway. Reid looked happy with that and the glance Ed directed to Hotch told him the BAU’s team leader was happy enough with the arrangement so he settled back in his chair and resumed reading. 

* * *

 

Morgan and Fuery didn’t waste time walking to the lab. Instead, they requisitioned a military vehicle and driver and were driven to the labs. Fuery and Morgan hadn’t gotten much of a chance to get to know one another over the last few days since they hadn’t been assigned to follow the same lead like this before. They didn’t talk much during the drive and the driver didn’t say anything more than his rank and name and ask where they needed to go.

 

“Good morning, Claudia,” Fuery greeted with a delighted smile at the plain looking red-head at the desk.

 

“Kain! What are you doing here?” Claudia asked, grinning happily at the sight of her friend, as she made her way around the desk to give Fuery a quick hug. “And who’s your friend?” Claudia asked when she noticed Morgan standing there.

 

“Derek Morgan, ma’am,” Morgan said as he shook her hand and offered her a charming smile that caused her to blush furiously.

 

“Claudia Roslyn. Pleasure to meet you,” Claudia introduced herself once she fought back her blush and turned back to Fuery. “What do you need, Kain?” She asked as she moved back behind her desk and resumed her job.

 

“We’d like to speak with Doctor Nesbo, if he’s available?” Kain asked and Claudia nodded.

 

“Sure. I’ll give him a call and see if he can talk,” Claudia told them and picked up the phone to do just that.

 

Fuery and Morgan stood to the side of the desk, out of Claudia’s line of sight to the front door in case someone else walked in and she needed to help them. It only took her a minute to start and finish her conversation with Doctor Nesbo and she was quickly hanging up the phone.

 

“Doctor Nesbo will be down in a few minutes to speak with you both,” Claudia told them before they could ask.

 

“Thanks, Claudia. We’ll just wait over there,” Fuery told her, pointing over his shoulder to the chairs Morgan, Reid and Falman had sat in when they first met Nesbo. Claudia nodded and went to say something but her phone rang and she had to answer it.

 

Nesbo arrived within five minutes, just after Fuery had finished explaining to Morgan that he and Claudia had been childhood friends, attending the same school for a few years, though Fuery had graduated first as he was a year older than her. They’d reconnected after years of not seeing each other when Claudia and Fuery had run into each other when Claudia started working for the crime laboratory.

 

“Gentlemen, what can I do for you?” Nesbo asked, a bright and curious smile on his face.

 

“Hello again, Doctor Nesbo,” Morgan said, shaking the man’s hand when he offered. “I’m not sure if you know him already but this is Warrant Officer Kain Fuery,” Morgan introduced the younger man and Nesbo offered his hand to Fuery.

 

“No, I don’t think I’ve had the honour. Doctor Dean Nesbo,” Fuery shook his hand and Nesbo looked at both of them expectantly.

 

“We’d like to discuss any new test results you’ve gotten in and question you about another case, if you have the time to spare,” Morgan requested politely but his voice had a tinge of urgency to it that Nesbo couldn’t resist.

 

“Of course. We can talk in my office. Actually,” Nesbo said as he started leading them out of the front entrance, Fuery giving Claudia a wave, “you’ve got impeccable timing. We received the results from all of the tests we still had to run for the case you’re investigating,” Nesbo informed them. Both Morgan and Fuery looked excited at this information. They reached Nesbo’s office in no time, only interrupted by one lab tech who needed Nesbo’s signature for something. “Please, have a seat,” Nesbo offered as he sat behind his desk. Morgan and Fuery took him up on his offer.

 

“Thank you,” Morgan said as he pulled out his notepad and pen. “We’ll start with the new results, if you don’t mind, Doctor?” Morgan suggested and Nesbo nodded agreeably before sorting through a pile of folders on his desk and setting aside a couple.

 

“We finished the testing on the blood from the victims and any samples gathered from the scenes. I believe I already told you that carbon monoxide had been found in each victims blood?” Nesbo asked and Morgan nodded to confirm it. “I thought so. We did confirm that none of the victims had been drugged with anything our tests could pick up prior to being killed and – with the exception of Captain Bryce – none of them had excessive amounts of alcohol in their systems.”

 

“And the unknown sample you identified at General Andrews crime scene?” Morgan asked.

 

“The same. No known drugs and no alcohol in the donor’s system,” Nesbo told them. Morgan nodded for him to continue. “The results on the clothing yielded more answers, thankfully. Each victim had traces of an accelerant on their clothing that hadn’t completely burned away. We identified the substance to be ethyl alcohol,” Nesbo told them before they could ask. “Our techs are still sorting through and organising fibres, fingerprints and hair but like I told you, Mr. Morgan, we aren’t hopeful and they won’t be useful to either side,” Nesbo reminded Morgan.

 

“Yes, I remember you mentioning that before,” Morgan said with a small smile. “Did you find any evidence about how the accelerant was lit?” Morgan asked but Nesbo shook his head.

 

“No. We tested all samples and never found evidence of a match and there was no lighter at the scenes. Your best bet is that the killer took whatever they used to light the ethyl alcohol in order to further prove the fire was set with alchemy,” Nesbo said insightfully. “I can’t imagine General Mustang would’ve used a lighter or match to set a fire if he had his alchemy and I think even those who believe wholeheartedly that these crimes were committed by Mustang would find it hard to argue away a lighter or matchbook at every scene,” Nesbo told them and Morgan and Fuery simply nodded in agreement.

 

“Is that everything regarding the test results for this case?” Morgan asked and Nesbo nodded. “Okay. We’d like to ask you about the tests you ran for Lieutenant-Colonel Granger in regard to the Frank Chambers murder,” Morgan told him and it was obvious Nesbo was confused as to why.

 

“Frank Chambers?” Nesbo asked and Morgan nodded. The doctor got up and moved over to his filing cabinet before sorting through his files. It took a little while but he eventually made a victorious noise and pulled a thick file out and sitting back at his desk. “What do you want to know?” Nesbo asks.

 

“Everything,” Morgan said.

 

“Alright. Frank Chambers was found early on a Monday morning but was believed to have been killed either late Friday night or early Saturday morning, according to the notes from Doctor Knox and Lieutenant-Colonel Granger,” Nesbo started explaining. “There was evidence that he was beaten severely before his death and an accelerant was poured over the entirety of his body before being set alight. His blood levels showed no trace of drugs and his carbon monoxide levels indicated he didn’t inhale any smoke, telling us he was dead from the beating before being set alight. He had enough alcohol in his system that he likely wouldn’t have been able to walk or see well,” Nesbo told them, flipping through various reports. “The accelerant was identified as ethyl alcohol,” at this, Nesbo paused and grabbed a report from the serial killings and compared the two, “and it looks like it’s the same as the accelerant used in the five murders. There’s no additives in any samples which indicates this was pure ethyl alcohol used,” Nesbo explained before focusing back on the Chambers file.

 

“Ah, there were plenty of fibres, hairs and fingerprints found at the scene but, like with the six other crime scenes, there’s a lot of them and I have my doubts those results will be of any use when the case goes to trial,” Nesbo said with a small sigh. “A button was found at this scene that didn’t look like it had been there long. It was collected and brought to us for testing. We found a partial print on the button, likely from when the wearer touched it when buttoning their clothing that morning. It was identified as the button on military-issued jackets but the print hasn’t been matched as Lieutenant-Colonel Granger hasn’t arrested someone for us to compare their prints to,” Nesbo told them before they could get too excited about that information. “Other than that, there really wasn’t anything of value to the investigators that we could tell them,” Nesbo said, closing the folder back up. “May I ask why you were interested in this case?” Nesbo asked curiously.

 

“Last night there was an attack on two of our team members. One was hospitalised and is expected to make a full recovery but our second team member was kidnapped. During the assault, the suspect claimed they had killed six people and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and his brother remembered attending the Frank Chambers crime scene with General Mustang, who had been called in because of his experience with burned bodies, only for him to excuse himself and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric from the case when they learned of the victim’s identity since General Mustang had had a recent altercation and believed it would’ve been a conflict of interest,” Fuery explained before Morgan could and Morgan was a little surprised that Fuery had taken the lead. “They believed that it was possible that Chambers could’ve been the first victim and no one had connected his murder to the other five because of how much time had passed between Chambers murder and Bryce’s. We wanted to know whether the tests you ran on both cases had resulted in any forensic connection between Chambers and the five other murders,” Fuery told him.

 

“Like I said,” Nesbo started saying after a few moments’ consideration, “the ethyl alcohol is chemically the same. There isn’t anything added to any sample that shouldn’t be there and what is there can be found in the same levels in both cases. The skull wound on all the victims are similar as well, indicating they were made with the same or similar looking weapons. There wasn’t any other kind of helpful evidence found at any of the scenes to help connect the two cases, forensically at least,” Nesbo said apologetically.

 

“Thank you for the information, Doctor Nesbo,” Morgan gave him a smile that showed he wasn’t upset about how little connected the cases. “Have you forwarded the results of the tests run for Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes?” Morgan asked and Nesbo shook his head.

 

“No, we only got these results this morning. I’d been about to call Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ team when Claudia rang me to let me know you were asking to talk with me,” Nesbo told them.

 

“We’d be happy to deliver the results for you, if you’d like. Save whoever Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes sends to pick them up,” Morgan offered and Nesbo nodded.

 

“That would be very helpful. Is there anything else you need?” Nesbo asked. Morgan and Fuery exchanged a glance but neither could think of anything.

 

“No, not at the moment,” Morgan told him and Nesbo nodded understandably.

 

“Alright, I’ll just make a copy of these reports for you,” Nesbo told them. “If you’d like, you’re welcome to head back to the front area and I’ll bring you the copy when it’s ready,” Nesbo told them, knowing it might take a little while. He had to hand-copy the latest reports and that wouldn’t be a quick process.

 

“I think we’ll do that, thank you,” Morgan said, climbing to his feet. Fuery followed quickly.

 

“No worries. If you want some coffee or tea, ask Claudia. She can get you some from the staff room,” Nesbo offered and they nodded their thanks once again before leaving the room and leaving the doctor to start copying the reports out. 

* * *

 

Edward was surprised and a little annoyed that it took nearly three hours for Fuery and Morgan to return to the office, though his annoyance was lessened by the fact that Morgan and Fuery were carrying breakfast and coffee. Just like when Ed and JJ had returned from the mess earlier, the food and coffee was claimed the moment it was set on the desk.

 

“What took you guys so long?” Ed asked in between mouthfuls of his breakfast burger and sips of his coffee.

 

“We offered to wait for a copy of the report so we could drop it to Brookes, who promised to hand it over later today once he’s looked at it, by the way,” Morgan told him. “No one told me that Amestris hasn’t developed anything capable of copying things quickly. Doctor Nesbo had to copy the report by hand,” Morgan informed them. “Then we stopped and got breakfast for you lot.” Morgan looked pointedly at the burger Ed had just finished shoving in his face before starting on the second one Fuery had wisely ordered for him, well aware of how much Ed needed to eat and his tendency to skip meals when he got stuck on a case or reading.

 

“And we really appreciate you doing that,” Ed told him with a grin that had Morgan rolling his eyes. “What’d the reports say?” Ed asked, bringing everyone’s attention from their food.

 

“Ethyl alcohol was found on each body and confirmed as the accelerant. No drugs found in their systems either so the poor buggers really were knocked out with a blow to the head,” Morgan told them. “Nesbo told us that the ethyl alcohol found on Chambers matches the ethyl alcohol found on the other five bodies and that the wounds on the skulls looked like they were made by the same weapon. The button was identified as the kind that can be found on the standard military uniform jacket and they found a fingerprint on it which they’re confident they can match to a suspect when someone gives them one,” Morgan finished his summary. The news about the button was exciting but they also knew that the prosecution could possibly make a reasonable case saying that Chambers murder wasn’t connected to the others, which would still leave Mustang on the hook for the crimes he was charged with. They’d still need a confession or more evidence.

 

“Alrighty, well we might be able to see if Brookes and Granger will get together and officially declare that these cases are connected. Since I’m not the lead investigator for either official investigation, I can’t do it,” Ed told them before glancing up at the clock. “Crap, I need to head to the hospital and see Al and Armstrong,” he said, scrambling to his feet and disappearing into the inner office.

 

“He does know that’s not the hospital, right?” Morgan asked jokingly. Prentiss rolled her eyes exaggeratingly at him.

 

“He’s just grabbing some books for Alphonse,” Reid told him absentmindedly as he continued to scan the notebooks he, Sheska and Edward were still getting through, having missed the joking tone of Morgan’s voice. Before Morgan could point that out, Ed came back from the inner office with five textbooks in his arms and an excited look in his eyes.

 

“Okay, so I just had a thought,” Ed said as he let the books drop heavily on the desk in front of him. “Mustang told us his teacher burned all of his research journals but I remembered that my arsehole father kept research and personal journals in my childhood home,” Ed told them, ignoring the slight widening eyes of Mustang’s team who all knew how rare it was for Ed to mention his father, even now he knew what happened and why. “Maybe Mustang’s teacher did the same thing. Wrote about his research in one set of journals and kept his personal journals separate. So what if he only burned his research journals and kept his personal ones?” Ed asked excitedly and the energy in the room became charged with excitement.

 

“You’re thinking that _if_ he kept personal journals and _if_ he didn’t burn them with the research ones, he might have written the names of his apprentices down somewhere in them?” Hotch asked, tone making it obvious he thought this might be a bit of a long stretch.

 

“I know it’s unlikely but there’s a chance, yeah?” Ed said and Hotch had to admit it was possible.

 

“Alright, it’s worth looking into. What do you want to do?” Hotch asked and Ed flashed him a grateful grin.

 

“Havoc, Miss JJ, would you mind going to visit Mustang while I’m at the hospital and asking if his teacher kept personal journals, whether they survived and if they did, where they are?” Ed asked and both blondes nodded agreeably. Ed pretended he didn’t see the slight tensing of Havoc’s jaw at the thought of talking with Mustang after their visit yesterday. “When you find out before we get back, can you call the hospital and tell me? If they do exist and Mustang knows where they are, Reid and I might as well go get them on our way back from the hospital,” Ed told them.

 

“Of course, Edward. You and Spence make sure you keep an eye out while you’re at the hospital,” JJ said, unable to quite keep her mothering in check.

 

“Sure thing, Miss JJ,” Ed grinned as he gathered back up his books. “You good to go?” Ed asked Reid, who nodded and joined Ed at the door. “We’ll see you guys later,” Ed said with a cheerful grin.

 

“Say hello to Alphonse from us,” Prentiss said and Ed nodded and assured her he will before he and Reid left to grab a military car.

 

“We’ll head over to visit Mustang now, if you aren’t busy, Lieutenant Havoc?” JJ asked and Havoc shook his head.

 

“Nah, may as well see what he reckons to the chief’s idea,” Havoc said with a smirk as he stood from his desk. JJ moved around everyone else to reach the door the same time he did. “We shouldn’t be long. Maybe an hour,” Havoc said to the group. There were nods to show they’d heard him and the two disappeared through the door. 

* * *

 

The drive to the hospital hadn’t been too long but Ed found himself a little upset that their driver was neither Browning nor Drayton but their driver was pleasant enough. Reid and Ed spoke about the notebooks they’d been reading and comparing ideas on some of the more suspicious interviewees in hushed voices, not willing to be overheard by anyone, even the polite sergeant driving them.

 

“Would you like me to wait here, Sir?” Sergeant Codd asked once he’d pulled into a spare parking spot in the hospital car park.

 

“Yes, please. We might be a couple of hours so if you want to go get some lunch or something, that’s fine,” Ed told him and the man looked a little surprised at the offer. Ed knew it was unusual to allow drivers to go get food or get personal errands done rather than sending them back to the base or telling them to stay with the car outside their passengers’ destination. Drayton had shown the same surprise when she’d been allowed to leave to do what she liked while Ed and Hawkeye babysat the generals and their search teams during the raid on Mustang’s house.

 

“Thank you, Sir. I’ll be back in two hours,” Codd told them. Ed nodded his acceptance with that plan and he and Reid headed towards the hospital. Reid had managed to persuade Ed into handing over a couple of the books so he wouldn’t be carrying them all. Ed had rolled his eyes but handed over two books.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” a nurse greeted once she spotted them. Her eyes roved over the two of them clinically, checking for any injuries. “Well, you’re not bleeding, limping or unconscious so that means you’re here to visit your brother,” she said decisively.

 

“You would be correct, Nurse Carol,” Ed said with a grin.

 

“Do you know everyone who works here?” Reid asked as Carol waved them along with a warning to stay out of trouble that Ed had winked cheekily at.

 

“Um, probably,” Ed admitted as he weaved through the hospital and its employees with practiced ease. “I’ve been admitted a few times though Havoc’s patched me up just as much,” Ed told him. “Plus, Al was in hospital for four months and I was here every single day for at least two of them. After that, I was here whenever I got the chance so I met a lot of the staff during that time,” Ed divulged as he found Al’s room and knocked. He waited all of a second before opening the door.

 

“Brother!” Al said happily once he realised who it was. “Doctor Reid, it’s nice to see you as well,” Al gave the young doctor a smile once he spotted him.

 

“Hey, Al. How are you today?” Ed asked as he plonked into the chair he’d claimed while waiting for Al to wake up the previous day. “Hey, Miss Maria. Hey, Brosh,” Ed greeted the two soldiers as he shoved the books held in his arms into his brother’s lap. Reid was a little nicer and handed them to Alphonse.

 

“Hey, Ed,” they both chorused in greeting.

 

“Thanks, Ed, Reid,” Al said, looking over the title. “I’m fine, by the way. Doctor Evans is happy with how my head wound looks and believes I’m no longer in any kind of danger from a brain hemorrhage or anything,” Al told him cheerfully. “How are you?” Al asked, noting his brother was still in the same clothes he’d worn the day before.

 

“I’m fine. I spoke to Grumman immediately after I left here,” Ed told him. “I told him we thought Chambers could’ve been the first victim and he granted us permission to go through Lieutenant-Colonel Granger’s case files about his case. We’ve been working all night going through it all. Chambers kept detailed notebooks about threats he’d received and whatnot throughout his military career. A lot of people threatened him bodily harm, especially while he was an assessor for the State Alchemy program so there’s a fuck-ton of notebooks to read.” Ed groaned at the thought of the ones still remaining. Reid had honestly been a blessing as the man could speed-read like no one’s business and had read at least four notebooks for every one Ed and Sheska managed to read.

 

“Did you speak with General Mustang and tell him what was going on?” Al asked, noting the way Ed stiffened slightly at the mentioned of Mustang.

 

“Course I did, Al,” Ed scoffed. “Bastard took the news like I expected but we managed to get him to use his brain and realise we were his best hope of getting Miss Riza back ‘cuz he could do nothing from the cell. We spoke about his fire alchemy since that was the only thing he could think of that anyone would kidnap Miss Riza for and rant about him and Miss Riza’s dad over,” Ed told him. “Her dad was Mustang’s alchemy teacher and he invented fire alchemy. We promised we wouldn’t say much more than that but the gist is that this woman is likely under the impression that Miss Riza knows the secrets of fire alchemy because of her dad and relationship with Mustang. Then Mustang actually had a decent thought, for once, and realised that since the woman is an alchemist, it’s possible she was once a student of Miss Riza’s dad but was denied the knowledge of flame alchemy and was expelled from his tutelage,” Ed finished his report to his brother and realised that both Maria and Brosh had been listening intently. “Has the major been by yet?” Ed asked them.

 

“Not yet. Though he should be here any minute, assuming he hasn’t been held back at the office for any reason,” Maria told him, glancing at the clock. As always, the saying ‘speak of the devil’ proved itself true when there was a thunderous knock on the door that Brosh immediately opened and managed to jump out of the way quickly enough to avoid being accidentally trampled by Major Armstrong himself as he thudded into the room.

 

“Alphonse Elric, it’s wonderful to see you in such high spirits! Ah, young Edward, I see you’ve decided to pay your younger brother a visit! How lovely to see such a wonderful show of sibling love!” Armstrong boomed, near tears at the sight of Ed sitting next to Alphonse. Ed thought that was a bit dramatic before remembering who exactly it was in front of him.

 

“It’s good to see you too, Major Armstrong,” Al said with a smile while Reid tried to adjust to the rather impressive presence of Armstrong. Maria and Brosh just looked resigned.

 

“Hey, Major Armstrong. How are you?” Ed asked as Armstrong squeezed himself into the seat next to Reid, looking rather comical as he sat there in a chair that looked like it was designed for a child in comparison to his bulk.

 

“I am well, young Edward! How wonderful of you to ask me!” Armstrong said with a grin.

 

“Have you seen your sister today yet?” Ed asked, curious about how the Ice Queen was healing but willing to admit he was not confident in his survival chances if he paid a visit himself and inquired about her health directly.

 

“She is healing marvelously, thank you for asking! Quick healing has been a trait that’s been passed down the Armstrong family for generations! I’m sure she’ll be as pleased as I am to hear that you’ve been inquiring about her well-being!” Armstrong claimed happily, causing Ed to pale a little.

 

“Oh, you really don’t have to tell her I asked,” Ed told him while Al – the traitor – tried to muffle his giggles at his brother’s predicament. He glared at Maria and Brosh, who also looked fair too amused at what was happening than Ed thought they should be. Only Reid wasn’t looking as amused as the others but Ed wondered if that was because he had far more practice at keeping his amusement hidden.

 

“Nonsense, young Edward! She’ll be tickled pink, knowing others outside of our family are concerned for her!” Armstrong insisted and Ed began wondering if it were possible to convince Al to pretend he had died when General Armstrong tried to find him to kill him. Then he realised Al would probably hold him down and resolved to ask the Lions when they got back in contact with him about whether Princess Allura had figured out interdimensional travel yet and if they could come steal him from Amestris until General Armstrong only wanted to maim him rather than kill him.

 

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Major Armstrong, but I’m sure you’d like the chance to actually get some lunch whilst on your break. Maybe Alphonse should start describing his attacker for you?” Maria suggested and Edward mentally blessed her and took back any bad thought about her he’d had.

 

“An excellent idea, Lieutenant Ross!” Armstrong praised loud enough for those back at the base to hear him. “Alright, young Alphonse, let’s get started,” he said as he pulled out an art sketching pad and pieces of charcoal.

 

“Sure, Major Armstrong. Where would you like me to start?” Al asked eagerly, sitting up a little bit straighter in his bed.

 

“I’ve always found it easier to start with the shape of the face,” Armstrong told him and Edward wasn’t the only one visibly shocked with how quiet his voice had sounded. It was still far louder than anyone else but at least he wasn’t trying to turn them deaf.

 

“She had a small, oval-shaped face,” Al told him and Armstrong started sketching. Ed, who had only witnessed Armstrong’s artistic prowess in action twice before, watched in avid fascination as the massive man delicately moved the charcoal across the page, slowly bringing the likeness of the unsub to life on the page with every comment made by Alphonse. 

* * *

 

Mustang would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised at seeing JJ and Havoc approaching his cell, the ever-present guard at their side. He’d been especially surprised by Havoc’s appearance as he’d figured the man would be rightfully angry with him still after what he’d said to Edward the previous night. A look at his face showed Mustang that he was still angry and Mustang thought the purse of JJ’s lips meant she knew as well and wasn’t impressed with him either. Mustang hadn’t slept well the night before. His guilt had kept him tossing and turning, worried he’d destroyed his relationship with Ed completely.

 

“Lieutenant Havoc, Miss Jareau, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Mustang asked once the guard had moved a respectable distance away.

 

“Ed had a thought while he was rifling through your bookshelves,” Havoc said and Mustang’s eye twitched slightly at the thought of the mess Ed might’ve made. Havoc continued like he hadn’t noticed, “so he could take Alphonse a few alchemic texts to read while he was in hospital.” Mustang figured that was something he would’ve let Ed do anyways so he didn’t comment. “He sent us to ask you about it,” Havoc told him.

 

“He remembered you saying that your alchemy teacher destroyed his research journals and notes regarding flame alchemy but do you remember if he kept any personal journals?” JJ asked and Mustang actually balked for a moment.

 

“Yes, I believe he did,” Mustang said, casting his mind back. “In fact, I believe he started keeping them when Captain Hawkeye was born so she would have them when she was older,” Mustang told them.

 

“Did he burn them alongside his research journals and notes?” JJ asked. Mustang’s mind stopped for a moment as he considered the question.

 

“I believe he didn’t,” Mustang said after a few moments. “In fact, I’m certain he didn’t. I wasn’t there when he burned his research but I helped Captain Hawkeye sort through his house when he passed away and I recall seeing her packing away some journals in her father’s study. I didn’t think anything of it at the time as I assumed he merely had written about other, less dangerous alchemies in those notebooks but now that I think about it, they didn’t look like the journals he favoured for research.”

 

“What did they look like?” JJ asked.

 

“His research journals were bound in dark leather, almost black, and were rather unassuming to look at. He had his initials stamped onto the covers but that was the only thing that could’ve separated those journals from any typical journal in the shops,” Mustang told them. “The journals I saw Captain Hawkeye pack away were a lighter brown and had tasteful gold trimming on the front cover with her initials stamped into it and coloured with gold. They were bound with a thin leather strip attached to the inside of the spine that was then wrapped around the entire book to secure it,” Mustang recalled as much detail as he could.

 

“Did she keep them, do you know?” JJ asked before asking another question rather than allowing Mustang to answer the first. “Where are they?” Mustang considered.

 

“Captain Hawkeye would not be considered a sentimental person by any means,” he told them, “but I believe she did keep those journals as they contained stories from when her mother was still alive and she loved her mother dearly,” Mustang told them. “She keeps the journals in her apartment, in a bookcase in her room. There won’t be any other books in that unit,” Mustang said.

 

“Who do we need to ask in order to gain entry into her apartment?” JJ asked, not willing to risk that it could be illegal to enter a kidnap victim’s home without permission here and costing them the case.

 

“You don’t need permission but if you did, it would be from me or her best friend, Rebecca, and I will freely give you permission,” Mustang told them.

 

“Rebecca is looking after Black Hayate so the chief can ask her when he visits her apartment with Reid after talking to Alphonse,” Havoc said to JJ when the blonde agent had looked unconvinced his permission would be enough.

 

“How is Alphonse doing?” Mustang asked, concern bleeding in his voice.

 

“He’s fine, as far as we know,” Havoc told him. “Ed spoke to him this morning to check on him and see if Major Armstrong would drop by and do a sketch of the unsub for us. The doctor is happy with how he’s healing but is still insisting he stay in hospital for now,” Havoc said and Mustang breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“That’s good to hear,” Mustang said before straightening up a little from where he stood. “I have a favour to ask of you,” he told them and was met with surprised faces.

 

“What would that be?” JJ asked.

 

“Would you please ask Fullmetal to pay me a visit, by himself, sometime this afternoon?” Mustang asked and was answered with the resistant looks he’d been expecting.

 

“I heard about what you said to him yesterday and while I can understand that was said because you were angry and hurt and lashing out to the person who gave you the bad news, I’m still angry at you,” JJ told him and Mustang wasn’t surprised. “Why would we ask Edward to come here by himself and talk with you?” JJ asked, crossing her arms and cocking a hip, her facial expression telling him his answer had better be really good.

 

“Because I want to apologise to him. I know how badly I hurt him, more so than perhaps you even realise. He deserves an apology from me and I am more than willing to give it and beg him for forgiveness for what I said,” Mustang told them. He was certain that if Havoc didn’t have an unlit cigarette in between his lips, his jaw would’ve dropped. JJ, on the other hand, was taking in every small detail about his facial expressions and the way he held himself, trying to ascertain whether he was lying or being honest. She finally came to a conclusion and gave a small nod.

 

“We’ll let Edward know that you want to speak with him, to apologise to him, but we will not make him come and see you, do you understand? You hurt him horrifically last night, far more than he’d ever admit. In fact, the only reason I and the rest of the teams know is because Havoc, Hotch and Morgan have told us. I doubt he’ll even tell Alphonse while he’s there today but rest assured that if Ed leaves Reid alone in that room with him, he will find out,” JJ warned him. “So, we’ll pass along the message but it is completely Edward’s choice whether he comes here.” Mustang nodded his agreement.

 

“Thank you for agreeing to tell Fullmetal,” Mustang said gratefully. “And thank you for caring for him so much. He deserves to have people be as open as you and the rest of the BAU are with their affection for him,” Mustang told her and JJ nodded in complete agreement.

 

“That he does,” she said simply. Havoc looked like he wasn’t sure he was even awake and hearing their conversation right.

 

“If you tell him what I said, Lieutenant Havoc, I’ll tell any future date of yours that you’re married with kids,” Mustang threatened and his threat was what snapped Havoc out of his stupor.

 

“Now, that’s just mean, bossman,” Havoc complained but Mustang remained unmoved. “Fine. He won’t hear it from me. But he should hear it from you,” Havoc told him. Mustang didn’t say anything in reply but he did give Havoc a sharp nod to acknowledge his words.

 

“We’ll let you know if anything new develops and I’m sure someone will be by with the sketch Major Armstrong comes up with to see if you recognise her,” JJ told him and Mustang gave her a grateful smile.

 

“I look forward to it,” Mustang told her. “Hopefully, the next time I see you, Miss Jareau, I’ll be out of these,” he lifted his hands to indicate his cuffs, “and Captain Hawkeye will be back in the office.” Both JJ and Havoc nodded solemnly.

 

“We hope so too,” JJ told him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcomed and appreciated! Please let me know what you think!


	20. Chapter 20

JJ and Havoc made it most of the way back to the office with no troubles and little spoken between the two of them after their talk with Mustang. Havoc was still working on making himself believe that he’d actually heard Mustang say what he’d said. Of course it was no secret with the team how much Mustang truly cared about Ed but couldn’t show it because it wouldn’t have been appropriate. The rest of the team could get away with showing their affection for Ed to a slightly larger degree but they all knew that it had never been their respect and approval that Ed had truly sought, even if the blonde would’ve denied it with his dying breath. So the fact that Mustang had been so completely honest about how regretful he was and that Ed hadn’t deserved those spiteful words _and_ his complete transparency about wanting to apologise was surprising indeed.

 

JJ, on the other hand, was still worried about Ed going to see Mustang by himself and not just because of what had happened the previous day between the two alchemists. The woman behind the killings, assaults and kidnapping of Hawkeye was still on the loose and they knew she was determined to learn the secrets of alchemy. Despite their theory that she wouldn’t go after Ed because it was likely well-known that he didn’t know anything about flame alchemy, there was still a chance she would prove them wrong. The unsub had obviously been watching them the past few days and Hawkeye for a little while since she knew the route the blonde captain took to walk Hayate. Even though she had Hawkeye, she could have her somewhere isolated and secure enough that she could risk leaving her alone for a few hours so she could try and see when Ed would be alone or try and check up on the case.

 

“What’s got you thinking so hard?” Havoc asked as he lit a fresh cigarette up. JJ startled a little, pulling herself out of her thoughts and realised they were nearly back at the office. She didn’t even remember leaving the holding cells after signing out.

 

“I was just trying to decide whether we should allow Ed to visit Mustang by himself, if he agrees to talk with him,” JJ admitted. Havoc raised a questioning brow as he took a drag and she elaborated. “I’m worried about whether there’s a chance he’d be in danger from the unsub. I know we said she likely knew that Ed knows nothing about Mustang’s alchemy but there’s a chance we’re wrong or she’s desperate enough to try to kidnap him anyway,” JJ told him, her worry clearly evident.

 

“Well, I’d almost welcome her trying to kidnap the chief,” Havoc scoffed lightly, “because he would not be easy prey, especially when he has her description and his desire to avenge Alphonse is still strong but if you’re truly worried,” Havoc said before she could scold him for making light of her concern, “maybe you should ask Ed to take someone with him who would wait at the sign in desk and leave him to talk to Mustang alone,” Havoc suggested and JJ considered it for a moment.

 

“That could work,” JJ admitted. “I’ll ask Morgan to go with him,” she decided and Havoc grinned at her.

 

“See? No need to worry,” Havoc told her and she grinned back at him before scowling when some of the smoke he’d exhaled drifted into her face. His grin turned apologetic and he put a bit more distance between them so it wouldn’t happen again, which JJ appreciated greatly.

 

They made small talk for the small remainder of their walk before Havoc opened the door with a cheeky ‘ladies first’ that had JJ rolling her eyes, though amusement twinkled in them to show Havoc she wasn’t truly annoyed. A glance around the room showed that Ed and Reid hadn’t returned yet but she thought she ought to check in case they’d stopped to get coffee or something.

 

“The chief ain’t back yet?” Apparently Havoc also had the thought to make sure.

 

“No, not yet. He did say they’d be a couple of hours and you guys were barely gone an hour,” Breda told him. A glance at the clock showed them he’d spoken the truth.

 

“Alright, we’ll give him a call. Mustang said Captain Hawkeye did keep a set of journals her father had written for her and there’s a good chance our unsub’s name is in it,” JJ told them as Havoc headed for the phone and dialed a number.

 

“This is Lieutenant Havoc. I need to speak with Lieutenant-Colonel Elric or Lieutenant Ross, please,” Havoc said to whomever had answered the phone. “I’m happy to hold, thank you,” he said after a few moments.

 

“Don’t tell him about Mustang wanting to speak with him. We’ll tell him when he gets back from Captain Hawkeye’s apartment,” JJ instructed and Havoc gave her a small salute that she once again responded to with an eye roll. Catching the confused looks on her team mates faces, she spoke to them. “I’ll explain when Lieutenant Havoc is off the phone,” she promised, seemingly mollifying them for the moment.

 

“Chief! How’s Al?” Havoc asked, drawing their attentions back to the phone call. “That’s good. Has the major stopped by yet?” He asked and a massive grin formed on his face as he chuckled at whatever Ed was saying. “Could’ve been worse, chief. Could’ve been General Armstrong,” Havoc pointed out and Ed did or said something that caused Havoc to grin even wider. “My deepest sympathies, chief,” Havoc said, highly amused and he laughed at Ed’s response. “Yes, there is a reason for me calling. Agent Jareau and I spoke with Mustang. He remembered seeing the captain packing a collection of light brown leather journals with gold decorative trimming and her initials stamped on their cover. According to him, they’re his teacher’s personal journals that he started writing when Captain Hawkeye was born. Mustang said there was a good chance that it’s likely that his teacher wrote about his apprentices in them,” Havoc told him. “He says they’re in her apartment, in her bedroom and on a shelf with no other books with them.” There was a pause as Havoc listened to Ed’s reply. “No, Rebecca should still be at the apartment with Black Hayate. She told me yesterday she was going to call in sick and stay at the apartment, just in case the generals or someone decided to try and raid it,” Havoc told Ed. “No worries. We’ll see you when you get back. Stay safe, chief, and say hello to Al for me,” Havoc said, waited a moment then hung up the phone.

 

“I take it Edward and Reid are going straight to Captain Hawkeye’s to grab the journals?” Hotch asked and Havoc nodded.

 

“Yeah, Ed reckons the captain would appreciate it more if your team read the journals rather than himself or us considering how private Captain Hawkeye is about her life,” Havoc told them, surprising the BAU a little.

 

“I’m sure Reid will be agreeable to going over them,” Hotch said. “So, JJ, what did you not want Ed to find out about until he got back to the office?” Hotch asked, changing the subject a little.

 

“Mustang asked to speak with Edward alone to apologise to him but Lieutenant Havoc and I have decided that Morgan will be going with him, though you are to wait at the sign-in desk while Ed talks with him,” JJ told Morgan sternly, going so far as to point a threatening finger at him that had him holding his hands up in surrender.

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Morgan said quickly, glaring at those who were unsuccessfully stifling their laughter at him.

 

“Did Edward give a rough estimate of how long he was going to be?” Hotch asked Havoc, ignoring the scene in front of him.

 

“He said he’d be leaving the hospital in a few minutes. Major Armstrong has finished his sketch of the suspect but none of them knew her name, though Armstrong commented that he had seen her around the base, confirming she is actually a soldier. Ed shouldn’t be longer than an hour, I imagine,” Havoc guessed and Hotch nodded.

 

“We’ll give him and Reid an hour and a half,” Hotch said decisively. “In the meantime, let’s get back to work,” Hotch ordered, pointedly looking at the files and notebooks they still had yet to read. 

* * *

 

Ed had been surprised to have a nurse come into his brother’s hospital room to announce there was a phone call for him from Havoc so quickly after his and Reid’s arrival. A glance at the clock confirmed that it hadn’t been an hour yet since he left the office with Reid. He shrugged at his brother and those still in the room – Major Armstrong having left shortly after drawing the sketch for them so he could see his sister before returning to the base – and followed the nurse to the phone and accepting the call.

 

“Is everything okay, Brother?” Al asked when Ed returned to the room barely ten minutes later.

 

“Yeah, Havoc was just telling me that he and Miss JJ had paid Mustang a visit,” Ed resolutely ignored the scowl that momentarily appeared on Al’s face, indicating that Reid had told them what he’d been told had happened the previous day, “and found out that Miss Riza did keep a set of journals from her father that he’d started writing when she was born.” Al perked up at that, as did Reid.

 

“Did he saw where she was keeping them?” Reid asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Yeah, we’re going to have to swing by Miss Riza’s apartment and grab them. Miss Rebecca should be there to let us in,” Ed told them, sensing Al’s next question would’ve been about how they were going to gain entry. Al frowned upon using alchemy to pick a lock though Ed personally saw no issue with it.

 

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to have everyone read her personal journals?” Al asked worriedly and Ed made a ‘calm down’ gesture.

 

“I told Havoc that the BAU would be reading through her journals. Someone has to read them to see if there’s any hint who this woman is and I think she’d prefer it not to be us,” Ed told him. Al seemed to accept this but Reid looked a little confused.

 

“Wouldn’t she prefer her friends to read through her father’s personal journals about her childhood than people she’s only known a few days?” Reid asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“She could. I’m no shrink but I think Miss Riza would rather you read those journals. You guys will be leaving soon and Miss Riza is more private than we are,” Ed said, gesturing between him and Alphonse, “and I think she’d prefer being given the choice to let us read the journals. If you guys weren’t here helping us, Miss Riza wouldn’t argue with us reading something so personal but in this case, there is a choice between us and essentially strangers and I think she’d choose you guys,” Ed explained and Reid seemed to accept his reasoning.

 

“Are you gonna leave now?” Al asked and Ed sighed, scrubbing his eyes a little.

 

“Yeah, we probably should. Sooner we find out who she is,” he gestured to the sketch Armstrong had done that was now in Reid’s bag, “the sooner we can get Miss Riza back and get General Bastard out of jail,” Ed groaned a little before perking up a little. “Do you think we can convince Grumman to keep him there for a few days longer?” Ed asked half-jokingly. Al whacked him upside the head, causing Ed to yelp and rub the sore spot.

 

“Don’t even try it, Brother,” Al held a threatening finger up as Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“You know I wouldn’t have put _too_ much effort into convincing Grumman,” Ed said, flicking Al in the ear before leaping out of chair so his brother couldn’t retaliate. Al settled for glaring at him while Brosh snorted in laughter and Maria looked like she was contemplating praying for the patience to deal with them. Reid grinned at both of them as he climbed to his feet and joined Ed at the foot of Al’s bed.

 

“Enjoy the books, Alphonse, and we’ll keep you updated on how everything goes,” Reid promised him and Al nodded gratefully.

 

“Don’t do anything I would do because Doc Evans is far too good at predicating escape routes from the hospital.“ Ed scowled a little. “One of these days I will figure out how to escape without being caught,” Ed vowed as Al scoffed.

 

“Yeah, right, Brother. You’re not allowed to hospitalised for the next three months, remember?” Al reminded him and Ed shrugged.

 

“I can try after that, can’t I?” Ed said cheekily as Al rolled his eyes once more.

 

“How about you don’t?” Al said like it was a previously unthought concept. “Go and get Miss Riza’s journals, Brother. I’ll be fine here,” Al said, making a shooing motion. “Thanks for the books, by the way,” Al hastily added when he realised he hadn’t thanked them yet, eyes already roving the titles and reaching for his first choice.

 

“Thank Mustang. I stole them from him, remember?” Ed told him before waving to Maria and Brosh. “See you later, guys. Let us know if you want me to send a couple of the others to give you guys a proper break,” Ed said, worried about his friends.

 

“Don’t you worry about us, Ed. I have every faith you guys will have this solved soon. Besides,” Maria smirked a little, “it’s not like we’re not used to babysitting a hospitalised Elric for days on end,” she reminded him teasingly.

 

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see you later,” Ed said as he rolled his eyes at them while ignoring Al’s muttered ‘she’s got a point’ in the back ground.

 

“Bye, Ed. Bye, Reid,” the two soldiers called as Ed and Reid walked out the room, calling back goodbyes of their own before the door shut behind them.

 

“Are you going to call for a new car or are we walking?” Reid asked as they made their way down the hallway.

 

“Nah, we’ll see if Codd’s there first then decide what to do. He might’ve finished whatever he was doing early,” Ed told him and Reid nodded. Ed exchanged greetings with a few of the nurses who walked passed them and a janitor who was cleaning the hallway before waving to Carol – the nurse who’d greeted them when they entered the hospital – and making their way outside. “Oh good. He’s back,” Ed said, nodding to the car waiting only a couple of spaces away from the one it had been parked in an hour earlier.

 

Codd spotted them leaving the hospital and immediately got out of his car, opened the back-passenger door and offered Ed a salute as soon as Ed was close by. Ed waved the salute away as he and Reid got in the car and the door was soon shut behind them.  “Heading back to the base, Sir?” Codd asked once he was back behind the wheel.

 

“No, there’s been a slight change of plans,” Ed told him before giving him Hawkeye’s address. “We shouldn’t be too long there and then we’ll be going back to the base.” Codd nodded as he pulled out of the hospital parking lot.

 

“Very well, Sir,” Codd said and started for Hawkeye’s apartment. Ed internally sighed at the use of the title but he knew he’d never convince the entirety of the lower-ranked soldiers to call him by his name.

 

The drive to the apartment didn’t take too long and Codd had barely parked the car before Ed and Reid were climbing out and assuring the sergeant they’d be back in a few minutes. Codd assured him he was happy to wait there for as long as needed and Ed shouted back a ‘thanks’ as he and Reid half-walked, half-jogged up to the building.

 

“Have you ever been here before, Ed?” Reid asked as he followed Ed up the stairs to Hawkeye’s apartment.

 

“Yeah, a couple of times,” Ed told him. “Al and I have helped her carry her shopping up here before when she’s had to buy a lot of food or new furniture or something she couldn’t handle by herself. Those were some of the few times Al and I were actually glad that Al was,” Ed’s joking tone cut off abruptly as he realised what he was saying. “Yeah, we’ve been here a couple of times,” Ed said flatly.

 

Reid was confused by the sudden change in Ed’s demeanour but he decided not to ask, knowing it would just make Ed clam up tightly. Instead, Reid used the few minutes silence their walk up the buildings stairs gave him to try and figure out what was upsetting his friend.

 

“Miss Rebecca? It’s Ed Elric and Doctor Reid,” Ed called, knocking on a door Reid hadn’t even noticed they’d stopped in front of. There was the noise of someone walking to the door, a moment’s pause before the locks were disengaged and the door opened.

 

“Edward? Has something happened? Did you find Riza?” Rebecca asked and Ed gave her an apologetic shake of his head.

 

“No, I’m sorry, we still haven’t found her but we’ve managed to get a lot of really good leads and we have a sketch of the woman who attacked Al and kidnapped Miss Riza,” Ed told her, nudging Reid with an elbow. Reid got the message and pulled the sketch Major Armstrong had done out of his bag and held it up for Rebecca to look at.

 

“I’m sorry, Ed, but I don’t know her,” Rebecca told him, sounding upset that she couldn’t identify the woman.

 

“That’s alright, Miss Rebecca. Hopefully Mustang or a part of his team will recognise her but even if they don’t, we have other avenues to look at to try and find out her name,” Ed assured her. “Actually, that’s part of the reason we’re here,” Ed told her. Rebecca raised an intrigued eyebrow but opened the door fully to let them in. “Thanks,” Ed said with a smile. Reid nodded his thanks to Rebecca as he passed her. The moment Rebecca shut the door, there was the sound of nails scrabbling on the floor and Ed grinned as Black Hayate appeared at run.

 

“Black Hayate, settle down!” Rebecca cried as the small dog jumped on Ed’s legs excitedly.

 

“Hey, Hayate. Have you been behaving yourself for Miss Rebecca while your mistress is away?” Ed asked the energetic dog, crouching down so he could ruffle his ears fondly. Hayate yipped and licked his hand once before moving onto the second new human.

 

“Good dog,” Reid said when Hayate sat politely in front of him, raising a paw to ask for a pat. It was something Hawkeye had trained Hayate to do when he’d only met someone once or twice before.

 

“So, what’s going on, Ed? What’s the other reason for you being here?” Rebecca asked when the blonde had straightened back up.

 

“We told Mustang about what happened last night and what the woman had said to Al while she was fighting him and what Miss Riza had said to Al before she was taken to see what Mustang could make of it and he came up with the idea that this woman is likely an ex-apprentice of his alchemy teacher, Miss Riza’s father,” Ed explained while Reid kept Hayate entertained. “He told a couple of our teammates that he’d seen Miss Riza pack up and keep a set of journals her father had started writing for her when she was born so she could read them when she was older and we think there’s a good chance he wrote the names of his apprentices in there, which means we might be able to identify this woman that way,” Ed told her. Rebecca nodded slowly.

 

“So, you’re here to take those journals?” She asked and Ed nodded. She looked a little torn between letting them take them and stopping them from invading her best friend’s privacy.

 

“I’m going to ask the consultants to read the journals and not the team,” Ed told her. Rebecca looked a little surprised. “I figured Miss Riza would prefer that,” Ed shrugged a little self-consciously when Rebecca didn’t say anything.

 

“She would,” Rebecca told him, giving him an approving smile that caused Ed to flush a little. “I have to take Black Hayate for a walk since I have an appointment at his usual walking time. If you’re ready to leave before I get back, lock the door behind you. I have a key,” Rebecca told them. Hayate start wriggling excitedly at the mention of a walk and would barely stay still for Rebecca to clip his leash on.

 

“We will. Thanks, Miss Rebecca,” Ed said, bowing a little as she headed for the door.

 

“I hope the next time I see you is when you’ve found Riza,” Rebecca told him with a hopeful smile.

 

“Hopefully, you will,” Ed told her. “We’ll bring the journals back as soon as we’re done with them,” Ed promised. Rebecca gave him a short nod and left the apartment, Hayate following obediently along beside her.

 

“Where to?” Reid asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“Dunno. I’ve never been in her room but I’m gonna guess that it’s that way,” Ed told him, pointing to the open door Hayate had come running through. Considering there was no other way to go, it seemed to be the only option, something Reid told Ed dryly. Ed flashed a bright grin before heading in the direction he’d pointed.

 

Hawkeye’s room was tidy and tasteful. Ed hadn’t really known what to expect but what he saw seemed to fit Hawkeye perfectly. There was a large bed in the centre of the room with matching bedside tables and a dark purple bedspread and matching pillow cases. Hayate had a small bed in the corner of her room but Ed thought he could see some hairs of the bedspread that indicated that sometimes Hayate was allowed up there. The room also contained a large wardrobe and dresser and a small vanity table with a mirror that held a hairbrush and a small collection of make-up. There were photos on top of the vanity table and dresser. A small basket next to the door contained some toys for Hayate to play with and finally, a bookshelf whose shelves were stocked completely with various books with the exception of one shelf. The top shelf held a dozen or so thick journals. There weren’t enough journals to fill the shelf completely; in fact, there was enough space for another four or five decent sized books but it seemed Hawkeye dedicated that shelf to the journals only.

 

“I’m gonna guess these are the journals Mustang was on about,” Ed said, not noticing how Reid didn’t join him by the bookshelf.

 

“Hey, Ed, can I ask you about something I’ve been wondering about for a while now?” Reid asked hesitantly as Ed grabbed the first one and seeing the gold trimmed cover and letters ‘R.H’ pressed in the centre of it.

 

“Sure,” Ed said, not really registering what Reid had asked or his tone, more focused on the journals. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t tempted to open the journal and start reading but he resisted the temptation, mainly because he valued his life and knew Hawkeye would know he read one when he promised the others that only the BAU would read them. Ed was fairly certain Hawkeye was psychic like that.

 

“You lost your arm and your leg trying to transmute your mother back to life, didn’t you?” The journal fell out of his hand, hitting the floor with a loud thud as he spun to face Reid, who looked both apologetic and determined.

 

“What the _fuck_ did you just say?” Ed hissed, eyes flashing dangerously. Reid kept moving his hands like he wanted to start twisting them together nervously but kept forcing them back to his sides so he wouldn’t give away just how scared he was.

 

“It’s the truth, isn’t it? You didn’t lose your limbs in a farming accident. You and Alphonse tried to bring your mother back to life using forbidden alchemy and it rebounded like Harding’s stone did, didn’t it?” Reid asked softly. Ed felt his hands tremble violently and curled them into fists, feeling his left fingers dig in roughly against the material of his glove. He didn’t feel anything with his right, reminding him even as he tried to block out the memories of what happened, like it was mocking him. “Ed?” Reid’s voice sounded slightly panicked and Ed realised his breathing was becoming rapid and erratic. He saw Reid reaching out to him, likely to try and calm him down from his impending panic attack but Ed wrenched himself out of reach.

 

“Don’t touch me!” He meant it as a warning, knowing his normal reaction to being touched in this situation was to lash out physically but the surprised jerk Reid gave told Ed it came out much harsher than that. Feeling his flesh knee weaken tremendously, Ed allowed himself to fall on the ground gracelessly, immediately pulling his knees to his chest and leaning his forehead against his forearms in an effort to block anything that might distract him from getting his breathing and heartbeat under control. He thought he heard Reid sit himself down and something light being dragged a short distance before realising Reid must’ve picked up the fallen journal. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, using techniques he’d learned by himself to pull himself out of the panic attack, but eventually he got himself back under control. “How’d you figure it out? I’ve never told anyone other than those I know won’t or can’t tell anyone else,” Ed asked, keeping his head tucked into his arms, not wanting to see the expression on Reid’s face, too scared he’d see the disgust, hatred or anger he felt should be there.

 

“Honestly? It was a guess,” Reid told him. “You always emphasise that human transmutation isn’t possible and I always had a small voice telling me that you know from personal experience. You were always vague with how you got your injuries; not telling us what kind of farming accident you had. You clam up, like you did when we were walking up the stairs, whenever you almost reveal something about Al. You told us that you survived a rebound as big as Harding’s when Hotch and Morgan wanted to call in the fire department before we knew whether Harding had survived or not,” Reid listed the small things Ed had subconsciously revealed. “So, I figured you and Alphonse had tried to transmute someone and given how much you obviously loved your mother, I realised that if you had tried that, it would’ve been to bring her back,” Reid fell quiet for a few moments after that before speaking again. “The only thing I can’t figure out is why you were the only one to suffer from the rebound, unless Alphonse didn’t help you?” Reid asked and startled when Ed let out a low, humourless chuckle.

 

“Alphonse was there and he was the one who suffered the most out of the two of us,” Ed snapped, anger as fresh as it had been when the magnitude of what they’d done and the unfairness of how Truth split their payment hit him properly after that night. He took a deep, shuddering breath to calm himself down again and, when it didn’t work immediately, he did it again and again. With each breath though, he felt something like resolve hardening and realised he was only a few moments away from revealing one of his darkest secrets to Reid. He remembered how he’d felt when he told Shiro about his three most reoccurring nightmares, back when he was with Voltron, and knew that Reid would’ve been his first choice out of the entire BAU team to share this with.

 

“You don’t have to tell me. I just wanted you to know that you can if you wanted to,” Reid told him, voice nearly quiet enough to be a whisper. Ed felt his decision to tell Reid solidify and for the first time since he’d sat, Ed raised his head and met Reid’s eyes.

 

“No, I think,” Ed swallowed a little convulsively, “I think I need to.”

 

“Have you ever told anyone by choice?” Reid asked, a little cautiously. He didn’t want to push Ed into talking about this and especially not with him when he could talk with someone he was closer too.

 

“Yeah. I mean, Granny and Winry knew because they patched me up and tried to scrub our home of evidence of the transmutation but they couldn’t get rid of everything and Mustang and Hawkeye saw it and confronted us while I was recovering,” Reid felt a little bit of annoyance at Mustang and Hawkeye interrogating injured children so soon after something like that. “I told the team and,” Ed cleared his throat, “Maes Hughes. His wife also knows but I never told Elysia. She’ll find out when she’s a lot older. Others have guessed and the homunculi always knew so they don’t really count. The Lions of Voltron know because I told Shiro and Black and I forgot to block the other four when I was telling her. Miss Maria and Brosh know as well as Major Armstrong and General Armstrong. I think that’s everyone who knows,” Ed told him.

 

“You still don’t have to tell me if you don’t want too,” Reid assured him but Ed shook his head.

 

“No, I want to tell you. Everyone’s always telling me that talking about it will make it easier for me to deal with it and you were smart enough to figure it out just from the tiny hints I never meant to give then brave enough to ask me,” Ed told him. “But it’s not a pretty story so if you would rather not hear it, I wouldn’t blame you,” Ed warned him but Reid looked determined.

 

“No. You said this would help you and I already told you that I’m willing to listen. That hasn’t changed in the last couple of minutes,” Reid assured him so Ed took another deep breath and started talking.

 

He started from the beginning with Hohenheim’s abandonment of them, watching his mother’s longing looks out of the window or the open door as she waited for their father to come back home, missing the signs of how she tired more quickly and struggled a little more to get out of bed each day before that fateful afternoon when he and Al found her collapsed on the floor. He told Reid that he’d ordered Al to go get Granny and about waiting anxiously next to his unconscious mother, feeling like each minute took an hour before Al was back with Granny and a couple of their neighbours to help Granny move Trisha to her bed and fetch things from her house or town to try and look after their mother.

 

He told Reid of the days preceding Trisha’s death, how each day his mother looked paler, how weaker she got to the point where she could no longer lift her arm to stroke his or Al’s cheeks. Ed told Reid about his mother’s last words to them and his anger at the fact that – despite weeks of desperately writing and sending letters to every person in his contacts book and people Granny had suggested – Hohenheim never bothered to return to comfort his dying wife before she passed. Reid then heard about how the two brothers waited all day at the graveyard in front of their mother’s grave for their father to turn up and how – when he didn’t – Ed and Al decided to try and do the impossible.

 

Ed then gave Reid the summary on how they met Izumi and begged her to be their teacher. How she only took them on after they spent a month alone on an island, fending for themselves and trying to figure out a riddle she gave them that would guarantee them positions as her students if they could solve it. He told Reid about the sometimes harsh lessons they took under Izumi, how it wasn’t just alchemy and that that’s where they learned that Ed might be better a bit better at alchemy than Al but Al kicked Ed’s arse every time in a non-alchemy fight. How this continued for two years before they left Dublith and their teacher to return home in time for Al’s 10th birthday and so they could raid their father’s alchemy notes to find anything they could on human transmutation so they could prepare to go through with their plans.

 

Ed described the few months it took for them to read everything their father had left in the study, just so they could be absolutely sure they’d gotten all the information available to them at the time and how they mixed their studies with their training routine so they wouldn’t disappoint Izumi when they saw her next. Ed emphasised how Al had questioned if they should be doing this since their teacher had made it clear that it couldn’t be done, that it was impossible, but Ed had reassured his brother every time, promising that if Al still felt like they shouldn’t do it when they’d read everything than they wouldn’t.

 

He told Reid about how they spent the day before the transmutation. How they went through their fighting sets, went for a walk into town to stock up on food for their mother, how they spent the afternoon scrubbing every inch of the house from top to bottom and fixed everything that needed fixing so their mother wouldn’t come home to a dirty house. He told Reid about how their excitement and nerves were so intense, they’d felt nauseous as they carted the things they needed into the basement. Ed told Reid about how they drew the array perfectly, going over every millimeter with a scruitinising eye, making sure there wasn’t a speck of chalk where it shouldn’t be before putting the carefully measured ingredients into a container in the centre of the array before taking their positions on the outside of the array, being extra careful not to touch the lines so they didn’t smudge before they were ready to transmute.

 

Ed took a deep breath and Reid went to tell him he could stop talking but Ed shook his head, quieting the young BAU agent. He could feel his voice growing a little hoarse but he didn’t move to find anything to drink, intent on getting through the next part without stopping because he knew that if he did, he might not start talking again.

 

Ed described the palpable anticipation in the air as they made their final checks of the journals. Ed told Reid about how Al still wasn’t sure but agreed they should go for it. Ed did his best to describe the atmosphere of the room, how tense it was, like the whole house was holding its breath when Ed and Al placed their hands on the array and activated it. He told Reid of his excitement as he watched the blue energy dance along the chalk lines of the array before converging on the ingredients they placed in the centre of it. How it felt to have the alchemic energy swirling around them, messing their hair and ruffling their clothes. How success was so close they could almost taste it and how exhilarating it felt to know they were about to be the first alchemists in history to ever successfully transmute a human.

 

Then Ed told Reid how in the space of a breath, everything changed. He described how the alchemic energy turned an ominous purple and how both of them realised in a heartbeat of the colour change what it meant; an alchemic rebound. He described the terror of watching the alchemic energy mimic a massive windstorm inside their basement, grabbing loose papers and light journals and tossing them around the room, hearing the windows rattling so hard Ed was surprised the glass held as long as it did. Then he described the feeling and pain of watching as his left leg disappeared at the knee and how he watched, morbidly fascinated, as his blood rapidly pooled where his lower leg and foot should’ve been.

 

Ed then told Reid that the pain of watching and feeling his leg was nothing compared to watching as tiny black hands appeared from the array and tore his brother apart in front of him, watching the terror and fear and pleading for Ed to save him in Al’s eyes as Ed fought back the bile and pain to reach desperately for his brother. He described feeling Al’s fingertips brush his before he completely disappeared in front of his eyes, leaving only Al’s clothes behind. He told Reid about the fact that he never noticed his missing leg or that the alchemic windstorm had died down because his brain was trying to comprehend everything he’d just seen.

 

Then he described his first visit to Truth. How he still had both legs and felt so small and exposed in the white world of Truth. He told Reid about the conversation he had with Truth, how Truth just grinned when he demanded to know where he was, where his little brother went. He told Reid about the trip through the Gate of Knowledge he took, how he had all of this knowledge crammed into his head, struggling to take and understand as much as he could before he saw his mother standing there, almost within arms reach before he was ripped away from her just before he could touch her. He told Reid about the elation of realising his and Al’s theory wasn’t wrong, that they’d just missed something and demanding Truth to let him back through. He told Reid about the chills that ran down his spine when Truth laughed and chided him for wanting more than what he’d paid for before indicating to his legs when Ed demanded to know what price and that’s when he’d understood the true price.

 

He told Reid about finding himself back in the destroyed basement, papers strewn everywhere and rain from the storm outside coming in through the broken windows before the pain of his missing leg hit him once more and he was reminded of the fact that he had just killed his little brother. Ed wiped away tears furiously as he described to Reid how he’d pleaded, _begged_ , for someone to help him, to give him his little brother back. He told Reid of how he turned to his mother, to try and beg her for help before he spotted what they’d actually created. He wouldn’t look Reid in the eyes as he described the creature they’d made, the creature that still haunted his nightmares, as best he could. He told Reid about how he heard a wet tearing noise before hearing a squelch as the arm of the creature fell off its body when it reached for him and how that made him throw up.

 

Then he told Reid about how he spotted the armour their father had kept in the basement and got an idea. He described the torturous army crawl he made towards the armour before he knocked it down and dragged it so he had access to the part of the armour that covered the back of the neck. He told Reid of the desperate deal he made with Truth as he used his own blood to paint an array on the inside of the armour, telling Truth it could have whatever it wanted so long as he got Alphonse back before he clapped his hands and activated an array that was supposed to be impossible to successfully transmute for the second time that night. He then told Reid about how he remained conscious long enough to realise his right arm was gone and to see the armour move on its own. He told Reid that the last thing he heard before he passed out from the blood loss and exhaustion was Al’s confused voice calling for him from the armour and knew he’d successfully bonded Al’s soul to the armour.

 

“I woke up in Granny Pinako’s house. Al had bound my wounds as best he could in the clothes he had been wearing when Truth took him and carried me in the middle of a massive rainstorm in the middle of the night to Granny’s home so she could save my life,” Ed was nearly rasping at this point and feeling suddenly tired. “Granny and Winry patched me up while I was still unconscious. I didn’t wake up for two days, which Granny used as an excuse to head for our home and do what she could to rid the house of evidence of what we did. I woke up and told Granny about what we did since Al could only remember bits and pieces and a few days later, Mustang and Miss Riza found us. Mustang demanded to know what happened and upon realising it was me and Al who committed the taboo, offered me a job when I was healed,” Ed finally finished speaking and leaned his head against the bedside table he’d collapsed against and waited for Reid to finish processing what he’d just told him.

 

He almost jumped out of skin when barely a minute later, Reid spoke up. “I can’t pretend to understand what you went through since nothing that’s happened personally to me comes close. I won’t give you pity or sympathy because you don’t want that,” Reid said slowly, like he was trying to think about to word what he was thinking, “but I will say that I think you and Al are incredibly brave and that anyone would be lucky to have a brother who would sacrifice their arm or carry their bleeding sibling in the middle of a rain storm so they could save their life. I knew the two of you had been through a lot but I didn’t realise just how much you had been through and I am really sorry if I caused you any pain by asking,” Reid said, eyes showing just how sincere he was and Ed’s jaw dropped when he realised Reid had cried while he was speaking and he never noticed.

 

“You didn’t,” Ed assured him. “In fact, I feel a little – I dunno – lighter, I suppose, now that I’ve told you. I’m surprised you’ve taken this so well,” Ed commented honestly.

 

“What do you mean? How’d you think I’d react?” Reid asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder before paying close attention to his gloves when he answered.

 

“Figured you’d be mad or horrified. Maybe disgusted that I pushed Al into doing something like that,” Ed told him, mumbling the last point, half-hoping Reid wouldn’t hear him but his luck had never been that good.

 

“I am horrified that the consequences of your actions were so severe and so heavy handed to Alphonse but I’m honestly just grateful you and your brother survived, something I doubt he would have done had you not bound his soul to the armour,” Reid pointed out. “I’m also going to point out something I’m sure you’ve heard from just about everyone who you’ve told but you’re not solely to blame for Al’s injuries. You said it yourself, Al was there and he willingly placed his hands on the circle so he carries some of the blame for it,” Reid told him and Ed almost rolled his eyes because Reid was correct about having heard that from everyone.

 

“Yeah, I know. I’m getting better at letting l carry some of the blame but I’m the older brother. It was my job to make sure he stayed safe and alive and because of one decision that I should’ve never suggested, I almost failed at my duty as a big brother,” Ed told him.

 

“I’m an only child and the youngest person on my team so I don’t know what it’s like being a big brother. The others treat me as a kid brother, or at least Morgan and Prentiss do, so I kind of know what it’s like being a little brother,” Reid told him. “A couple of years ago, I was kidnapped by an unsub, Tobias Hankel, who suffered a psychotic break when he murdered his abusive father and developed multiple personalities where part of him was himself, another part was his father, Charles, and the third part took on the identity of an avenging angel in the bible, Raphael,” Reid paused to stop himself from losing himself in the memories.

 

“JJ and I went to his home to interview him when I realised he was our unsub. He was quick to figure out that we knew and we split up to try and find him, since he was on an isolated farm with corn crops surrounding him and back-up would take too long to get to us. JJ went into the shed while I went through the cornfield to go around the back. JJ screamed and I started heading back to her to try and help when Tobias came out of nowhere and held me at gunpoint. He knocked me out, put me in his truck and took me to an isolated cabin, miles away from his home,” Reid told him. “He forced the team to watch him while the personality that was his father tortured me. He forced me to pick someone out of half a dozen people he was watching using their computers to save before he went out and killed someone else. When he got back, he realised that Garcia and an old teammate of ours, Gideon, stopped the murder he’d committed from going onto the internet, he hit me hard enough to induce a seizure and I died.” Ed gasped in shock and could feel tears welling up at the thought of what his friend had gone through. Reid gave him a watery smile before indicating he wasn’t done.

 

“Tobias revived me and the Raphael personality told me I needed to pick one of my team members to be killed. I refused at first but then came up with a desperate plan to help the team find me, since they were still watching what was happening on the computer. I picked Hotch, called him a narcissist and misquoted the bible, hoping that Hotch would remember that the previous week we’d argued about what a classic narcissist was and used a bible quote to support my argument. The misquote I made led Hotch to look the real quote up and realise I was being held in or near a graveyard and they eventually found me before the Charles personality killed me,” Reid told him and took in a deep shuddering breath to get control of his emotions. Even though it had been years, Tobias Hankel haunted him still.

 

“Reid, I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Ed whispered, horrified that someone could hurt someone like Reid in such a horrible way. Ed would also admit he was a little confused about why Reid told him this. Did he think he needed to tell him about something bad that happened to him because Ed did?

 

“Thank you but I do have a reason for telling you about this.” Reid gave him a small smile. “Hotch and Gideon were the ones who ordered me and JJ to follow up with Tobias Hankel. JJ agreed with me to split up when Tobias Hankel ran towards his shed. Both of these actions put me in the position I was for Hankel to kidnap me and all three of them blamed themselves for what I went through. JJ refused to leave my side while I was in hospital and both Hotch and Gideon visited me every day. Afterwards, all three of them and, to a lesser degree, the rest of the team treated me like they were trying to make up for me getting kidnapped and for not being able to find me sooner because I’m the baby brother of the team and it was their job to make sure I was never in a situation that dangerous. Even though I was the one who made the suggestion to split up on that farm, even though I agreed to follow the order to go out there in the first place, all of them thought my kidnapping and any injury I suffered because of it was on them,” Reid told him, making pointed eye contact with Ed so he couldn’t possibly miss his points.

 

“It hurt me, knowing that they were blaming themselves for something that I unwittingly had a hand in while reassuring me it wasn’t my fault. While I would never want to go through something like that again, I also wouldn’t want any of them to go through it as well so I’m actually glad it was me and not JJ or whoever Hotch and Gideon would’ve sent if I refused to go,” Reid admitted. “I imagine that it’s kind of similar for Al. He might wish he’d never spent five years as a suit of armour, he might wish that the two of you hadn’t activated that array but I bet he’s glad you didn’t do it by yourself because I think you both know that you likely wouldn’t have survived that transmutation by yourself so he’s glad he decided to place his hands next to yours and he probably hates the fact that you’re still taking most of the blame because you think you broke your duty as a big brother,” Reid told him and Ed looked a little stunned.

 

Up until that moment, he could honestly say he’d never thought that Al might be grateful he went through with the array rather than leaving Ed by himself to activate it because they both know Ed’s stubbornness would’ve made certain Ed went through with it. He’d never considered that Al would’ve preferred living as a suit of armour for five years to whatever would’ve happened to Ed if Al hadn’t helped him activate the array.

 

“Thanks, Reid,” those two words didn’t say everything he wanted to say and yet, somehow, they did.

 

Reid gave him a smile before he climbed to his feet, letting Ed scrub at his face to rid himself of any lingering evidence that he’d been upset before reaching a hand down to the blonde. Ed looked at it for a moment before using his left hand to grab it and allow Reid to haul him to his feet.

 

“You’re welcome,” Reid said before turning to the journals they were supposed to be collecting. “We should probably grab those and get back to the car. We did tell Sergeant Codd we’d only be a few minutes and he might start getting worried soon,” Reid told him and Ed nodded in agreement. They’d been sitting on the ground for at least twenty minutes.

 

“We probably shouldn’t be seen carrying them in case we’re being watched,” Ed said as he looked around the room before grabbing half the books and heading to the kitchen area. Reid grabbed the rest, including the book Ed had dropped earlier, and followed Ed.

 

He watched the blonde place his load on the table and rifle nicely through Hawkeye’s kitchen before coming up with two grocery bags strong enough to carry several books and made of cloth rather than clear plastic. He handed one to Reid and they both filled the bags with the journals, carefully packing them to minimise the risk of them somehow tearing as they carry them. Once both bags were packed and all the journals were accounted for, they left the apartment, locking the door behind them as per Rebecca’s request and headed down the stairs. They didn’t say anything to each other but the air between was comfortable and both of them could feel just how much stronger their friendship was now.

 

“Fullmetal, Sir!” Codd called as he spotted them and Ed gave him a wave.

 

“Thanks for waiting, Sergeant Codd. Sorry we were a little longer than expected,” Ed said as they reached the car. Codd opened the door for Ed and Reid before closing it up behind them.

 

“All good, Sir. Are you heading back to the base now, Sir?” Codd asked, climbing back in behind the wheel.

 

“Yes, thank you, sergeant,” Ed said. Codd nodded before starting the car and driving them to the base. Ed met Reid’s eyes and gave him an honest, happy smile that he was pleased to see returned in full. 

* * *

 

“Chief!” Havoc greeted cheerfully when Ed and Reid walked through the door. Everyone else looked up and greeted them either verbally or with a smile and nod of their head.

 

“Hey,” Ed greeted back as he put the bag he carried on the desk in front of JJ before heading for his own seat.

 

“How’s Alphonse?” Fuery asked once Ed had sat.

 

“He’s good. Happy to have some books to pass the time now,” Ed told him. “I’m sure Havoc already told you but Armstrong was able to produce a sketch of the unsub though he, Miss Maria and Brosh didn’t recognise her,” Ed told them. Reid handed Ed the sketch he’d returned to his bag after showing it to Rebecca and Ed passed it to Havoc, who looked at it before passing it along, eventually making a full circle and returning to Ed.

 

“I’m fairly certain I’ve met her,” Falman admitted, face pinched in thought. “I don’t think I was actually introduced to her though,” Falman told them and Ed deflated a little. He knew for certain that if Falman had been told her name, he’d be able to tell them. Falman wasn’t one to forget someone’s name, even if they only met the once.

 

“No one else recognised her?” Ed asked but Breda, Havoc, Fuery and Sheska shook their heads. Ed hadn’t expected the BAU to know her so he wasn’t surprised when they didn’t say anything. “Okay, we’ll just have to keep looking for her identity,” Ed said, wondering who he should ask to take the sketch to Mustang because he didn’t really want to go see him right now. Not after telling Reid about that night and feeling as emotionally raw as he currently did.

 

“Ed?” JJ called and Ed nodded at her and felt like he wasn’t going to be getting his wish from the way JJ apologetically winced, like she knew what she was about to tell him would upset him. “Mustang asked Havoc and I for a favour. He wanted us to ask you to go see him, just you by yourself, so he can apologise,” JJ told him and Ed couldn’t stop the disbelieving snort even if he wanted too.

 

“Mustang wants to apologise to me? Sorry, Miss JJ, but you must’ve heard wrong,” Ed told her, stubbornly refusing to meet anyone’s eyes.

 

“Chief,” Havoc’s voice was filled with understanding so Ed had to meet his eyes, “trust me, I heard what he said yesterday and I heard what he said today when he asked JJ and I to pass along that message to you. He really does want to apologise, as unbelievable as that seems,” Havoc told him and Ed felt annoyed at how easy it was for his resolve to not have to see Mustang’s face until after they got him released melted at Havoc’s complete belief in his own words.

 

“Fine. I’ll go see the bastard but don’t blame me if he gets hit again,” Ed grumbled and Havoc grinned before clapping him on the shoulder.

 

“I’ll hold him in place for you if he does something he’d deserve getting punched for,” Havoc huffed.

 

“Good. I’ll head there now than. Get this out of the way,” Ed groaned as he stood up once again. He ignored the way the others had been grinning or nodding in solidarity at him and Havoc.

 

“I’m going with you,” Morgan said, climbing to his own feet as Ed gave him and JJ a confused look.

 

“I thought you said Mustang wanted me to go by myself?” Ed asked JJ and she nodded.

 

“He did but we decided we weren’t taking any chances so Morgan is going with you. He’ll wait at the sig in desk,” JJ told him.

 

“I am perfectly capable of getting to the holding cells by myself, you know,” Ed grumbled and JJ nodded in agreement.

 

“Of course you are but I’ll worry about you so please let Morgan go with you? As a favour to me?” JJ asked, looking at him pleadingly while several people tried not to laugh at the obvious manipulation.

 

“That’s playing dirty, Miss JJ,” Ed told her and she gave him a blinding smile.

 

“I know. Make sure you don’t kill Mustang,” JJ said, shooing them towards the door. “If you aren’t back by dark, you two are on dinner duty!” JJ told them as they left the office. Ed waved over his shoulder to show he’d heard before the door closed behind them.

 

“Well played, JJ,” Havoc said, impressed. All of Mustang’s team nodded in awe. JJ gave them a smile before gesturing pointedly at the work still in front of them.

 

A movement and flash of gold caught JJ’s eye and a quick glance confirmed that Reid had now sorted the journals in chronological order and was now scanning the pages of the first one. JJ was quick to follow her own silent order and got back to the work she still had in front of her as the office fell back into near complete silence. 

* * *

Morgan and Ed arrived at the holding cells quicker than Ed would admit he liked. They didn’t really talk about whether Mustang was serious about apologising and Ed hated to admit that he thought that was really the only reason Mustang asked for him to come see him. Havoc and JJ certainly seemed convinced that the apology wouldn’t be some kind of cover for something else.

 

“I’m sure you both know the procedure by now,” the soldier manning the sign in desk commented dryly as he pushed the folder towards them. Ed flashed him a grin as he picked up the pen.

 

“It’s just me going through to see him this trip. Mr. Morgan is staying here,” Ed explained when the soldier pushed the folder towards Morgan was Ed had finished signing his name. The soldier raised a brow but didn’t question any further.

 

Morgan gave Ed’s flesh arm a squeeze and gave him an encouraging and reassuring smile before lightly shoving him towards the waiting guard when Ed hesitated for the briefest of moments. The guard didn’t comment and soon enough, they were heading down the familiar path to Mustang’s holding cell. They got about halfway when Ed had a realisation.

 

“Oh, hold up a moment,” Ed said as he stopped and started rifling through his pockets. The guard looked a little wary but came to a stop just in front of him. Ed made a victorious noise when he found the sketch he’d stuffed into his pocket. “Do you recognise her?” Ed asked, smoothing the paper a little and showing the guard the sketch.

 

“I don’t think so, Sir,” he told him after looking at it for a moment. “I can tell you for certain she’s not been arrested and held here in the last six months,” the guard offered, trying to be helpful.

 

“Thanks anyway,” Ed said, putting the sketch back in his pocket a little nicer than he had last time. The guard gave him a nod before they continued on their way.

 

Ed made sure his face stayed as carefully blank as he could make it when the familiar cell came into view. He hated how nervous he was. It was ridiculous! It’s not like yesterday was the first time he and Mustang went for each other’s throats. _But it was the first time since their first interdimensional trip_ a traitorous little voice in his mind pointed out. Ed told that little voice to fuck off just as Mustang came into view.

 

“Would you mind opening the cell and letting me in, please?” Ed asked the guard before Mustang could say anything.

 

There was the hesitation Ed had expected but the guard did as he asked before Ed had to threaten to destroy the gate as expensively as possible. Ed thanked the man with a nod before stepping into the cell to join Mustang. Ed took the moment to observe the man and was surprised to see hints of guilt and regret etched onto his face and in the way he held himself. There was a rather spectacular bruise on his right jaw and the area was slightly swollen. Ed felt a little bad. Even though it had been his flesh hand, Ed hadn’t held back his anger, allowing it to determine just how much weight he put behind that blow. The guard locked the cell once more and moved away from the door to where he’d be within hearing distance but far enough away that Ed and Mustang had some privacy.

 

“You were right, Ed.” The blonde wasn’t sure what made him jump exactly; Mustang admitting that Ed was right or Mustang calling him by his first name. “When I lose control over my temper, I can turn into a beast.” Ed knew the shock this time came from Mustang referencing their final fight against Envy. In all honesty, Ed had never been sure that Mustang had heard much of what he’d said back then.

 

“’Turn into an arsehole’ might be a little more fitting,” Ed told him, leaning against the wall opposite where Mustang was sitting on the edge of his cot and crossing his arms protectively over his chest, not meeting Mustang’s eyes.

 

“Well, I can’t really argue against that because it’s true,” Mustang chuckled self-deprecatingly. “I am sorry, Ed. What I said to you yesterday was the result of me lashing out because I was angry at myself for not realising someone was framing me and taking precautions before I was arrested because it meant I was in here when two people I care about was attacked and one was taken. I lashed out at you because you were the one who told me. I’m not trying to make excuses,” Mustang told him, “because there is no good excuse for what I said but you deserve to know why I said what I said and you deserve to know that I didn’t mean a single word I said and that I am truly, genuinely sorry and I am willing to spend as long as I have to until I have made it up to you,” Mustang told him and Ed blamed the fact that he told Reid about what he and Al did for the fact that his eyes watered so easily. That talk had obviously made him far too emotionally vulnerable.

 

“It’s not a big deal, Mustang. Don’t worry about it,” Ed told him as he blinked a few times to rid himself of the tears that he was in no way ever going to let them fall in front of Mustang right now. Because of this, he missed the way Mustang was looking at him; like he was resigned to the fact that Ed would play it off as no big deal and sad that that was Ed’s automatic response to this kind of situation, to play it off as if it really wasn’t a big deal.

 

“It is a big deal, Ed. I blamed you for Hawkeye being kidnapped when I know full-well that had you been there, chances are that woman would be in custody or hospital or you would’ve done your damnedest to take Hawkeye’s place,” Mustang realised his voice had taken on a pleading note and was surprised at how much he didn’t care that Ed heard it, “and that’s not even taking into count what I said about Maes.” His face fell even further at the flinch Ed gave at the mention of Hughes’ name. “I know how much his death affected you and Alphonse and I know you still struggle to accept the fact that you were in absolutely no way responsible for what happened to him. I knew all of that and I used it against you in the worst way possible. I had no right to say what I said and to blame you for something you had no control over,” Mustang told him, keeping his usual indifferent mask tucked away and allowing himself to show emotions he normally wouldn’t have. Ed shifted slightly, showing his uncomfortableness with this situation and that made Mustang a little sadder.

 

“Seriously, Mustang, I don’t care anymore so don’t worry about it,” Ed told him and Mustang barely managed to hold in his sigh at the attempt of deflection.

 

“If you truly didn’t care, Edward, you wouldn’t be avoiding eye contact with me,” Mustang pointed out softly and from what little of Ed’s cheeks he could see after he bowed his head, his cheeks flared pink. Mustang wanted to push this even further but he also knew that right now, he was in a precarious situation with Ed. If he pushed his apology too much, it wouldn’t matter how genuine he was being, Edward wouldn’t buy it. At the same time, he needed Ed to know just how sorry he was but he just didn’t know how to go about doing that, other than apologising every time he saw the blonde. For the moment, the only other plan he had was to let Edward take the lead in this meeting and talk to Alphonse at the earliest opportunity and hope the younger Elric knew what he should do.

 

When Ed realised that Mustang was waiting for him to do something, Ed half-panicked and decided to move onto something far less emotional so he grabbed the sketch out of his pocket and handed it to Mustang. “This is the woman that Al said attacked her. Major Armstrong, Miss Maria, Brosh, your team and every other soldier I’ve shown it to hasn’t recognised her. Do you?” Ed asked, resisting the urge to fidget at the look on Mustang’s face as he took the sketch.

 

“I think she holds the rank of major,” Mustang said as he stared at the sketch. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t mildly disappointed but completely unsurprised that Ed decided to avoid the subject completely. “I don’t remember her name but she was one of those who was promoted because of Promised Day in the ceremony Grumman held a couple of months after that day to present all of the promotions as well as make his public debut as Fuhrer. I remember seeing her accept her promotion from Grumman but I didn’t catch her name,” Mustang admitted. Ed remembered the ceremony he was talking about. He didn’t attend because Al was way too frail to go and he didn’t want to leave his brother alone. “Actually, now that I’ve seen what she looks like,” Mustang said, frowning a little and drawing Ed’s attention back to him, “I think I’ve seen her around me a lot more than I realised.”

 

“Like where?” Ed asked, curiously. If Mustang can remember this woman following him home, for example, maybe that could help prove their stalking theory.

 

“She’s delivered the teams paperwork a few times over the past few months,” Mustang told him and Ed felt his hope for this being proof of her stalking behaviour slipping away a little. “She must be stationed to a team close by to our offices because I’ve seen her in the hallway several times. The few times I’ve braved the mess hall food, she’s been in there as well. I’ve noticed her following me off base on nights where I’ve had to stay behind later than expected but I’ve never noticed her following me all the way home,” Mustang told him when he noticed Ed about to ask.

 

“So you didn’t notice anything like her following you home or being outside your house at all? Even walking passed it?” Ed asked and Mustang shook his head.

 

“No, I never noticed her before because she’s never done anything like that. I’ve only ever seen her in places that didn’t arouse my suspicions enough that I would’ve even noticed her, let alone remember seeing her,” Mustang told him.

 

“Well, if Miss Riza’s journals turn out to be a bust, I can always go and ask Grumman for a list of everyone he promoted to major during that ceremony then cross-reference that list with the lists we got from Granger’s team,” Ed said as he took the sketch back and put it in his pocket once more.

 

“You already got the journals?” Mustang asked, eyebrows raising in surprise.

 

“Well, yeah. When Havoc rang the hospital to tell me, Major Armstrong had already done the sketch and Reid and I didn’t have anything more to do with Al so we headed straight to Miss Riza’s apartment. He’s probably reading through the journals as we speak,” Ed told Mustang, one of his brows quirking in a way that Mustang knew meant that Ed thought he was asking something dumb. Mustang couldn’t even find it in himself to try and put up an offended look at his tone; he was too grateful that Ed was feeling comfortable enough to give him a bit of attitude.

 

“I would’ve thought you would’ve been glued by Alphonse’s side. That seems to be the typical Elric response when one brother is hospitalised,” Mustang drawled, feeling himself slip back into his usual banter with the eldest Elric. He still knew he was nowhere near forgiven – by himself or Edward – but he was grateful to see that maybe their relationship might not be as irreparable as he first feared.

 

“Al’s fine. The doc is really only keeping him because this is the first time he’s been knocked out since being released from the hospital after recovering from Promised Day and they’re worried about how his body will handle it. Plus, he’d kick me out if I tried to stay with him while Miss Riza is still missing, even if I wanted to,” Ed told him and Mustang nodded in agreement. Alphonse would do that for certain.

 

“I’m glad to hear Alphonse will be alright. I’m sorry I didn’t think to ask about him last night,” Mustang took the offered opportunity to apologise for something else he’d felt guilty over; not asking after Alphonse the previous night.

 

“Yeah, well, we figured you would’ve been more worried about Miss Riza when you got told so it’s fine. Al said to say hello, by the way,” Ed told him and Mustang nodded in thanks. There was then a minute or so of silent awkwardness before Ed cleared his throat. “If you don’t have anything else to say or ask, I’m leaving. Reid will likely be done with the journals now,” Ed said, straightening up off the wall he’d leant back against once he’d taken back the sketch.

 

“Actually,” Mustang’s voice stopped Ed from summoning the guard over, “there is something else I wished to discuss with you.” Ed settled back against the wall but Mustang was happy to see that while his arms were still crossed against his chest, they were more relaxed and Ed was making eye contact once again, though his expression was still mostly closed off.

 

“Well?” Ed asked, forever impatient, when Mustang didn’t immediately tell him the thing he wanted to discuss.

 

“I told you about where my teacher hid the key to flame alchemy after he destroyed all of his notes. He couldn’t handle destroying his life work completely so he tattooed the key on Hawkeye’s back so that she alone could decide who to trust enough to pass along the secret to his life work to,” Ed nodded, a little confused about why Mustang was repeating this. “What you didn’t hear was that after the Ishvalen Civil War, Hawkeye came to me and asked me to destroy the key.” It didn’t take much longer than a couple of seconds for Ed to realise what he meant.

 

“You burned it off her back, didn’t you?” Ed asked, voice cast low, so low Mustang almost didn’t hear him.

 

“Yes. I burned a section of the tattoo away,” Mustang confirmed. “When she asked me to, she told me it was because she never wanted to witness her father’s alchemy being wielded like that again. She never wanted to see it destroy so many lives again so she came to me to make sure no one could,” Mustang told him and Ed wasn’t entirely sure he could identify what he was feeling as he imagined Hawkeye asking Mustang that and him agreeing.

 

“Why are you telling me this?” Ed asked, a little irritated that he still didn’t know why Mustang was talking about his fire alchemy or why he was telling him something that not even 24hrs before had Mustang asking him and Havoc leave so they wouldn’t hear this.

 

“Because, Edward, if there was ever anyone that Hawkeye and I could trust with her father’s and my legacy, it’s you,” Mustang told him, making sure he kept eye contact with the blonde. Because of this, he was able to witness Ed’s golden eyes widen in complete shock, a rare event since it was nearly unheard of for someone to do something that Edward never expected. “That’s why I’m going to teach you the secrets to flame alchemy,” Mustang told him but Ed was already shaking his head.

 

“Mustang, if this is some manipulation tactic to try and get me to forgive you for what you said yesterday so your conscience can be clear or something, _don’t_ ,” Ed snapped. Mustang noticed the blonde was shaking in anger almost as badly as he had been yesterday just after he’d punched him in the jaw and Mustang swore internally. Of course Edward would immediately jump to the conclusion he did.

 

“Edward, stop,” Mustang ordered, wincing at how much harsher that came out than he intended but it had the desired effect. Mustang got a glimpse at Edward’s golden, swirling with uncertainty, anger, confusion and a spark of hope that maybe he was wrong before he cast them back to the floor. “You know how guarded I am when it comes to my alchemy. _You know that_. So why would you think I would tell anyone the secrets behind it just so I wouldn’t feel bad because of something I said to them?” Mustang asked and Ed looked torn between believing his point and thinking this was a sick joke. “While I do feel bad – and I likely always will – for what I said, I wouldn’t be offering you this if Hawkeye and I didn’t trust you _completely_ ,” he emphasised the word as much as he could and felt his heart clench when Ed’s next breath was shaky. “This isn’t something I would take lightly nor would Hawkeye. I want to teach you fire alchemy because I know you would never let yourself use it the way I did,” Mustang told him and _finally_ Ed met his eyes again, “and I also think it might be somewhat poetic for you to go up against that woman, wielding the alchemy Master Hawkeye refused to teach her,” Mustang told him with a smirk that was more hesitant than he would’ve liked but Ed let out a weak chuckle and Mustang averted his eyes when Ed reached up to wipe his face.

 

“Are you sure?” Ed asked, voice shaky as he couldn’t contain all of his vulnerability and fear but Mustang nodded so confidently that Ed couldn’t help but believe him.

 

“Absolutely,” Mustang said, gesturing with his head for Ed to join him on the cot and was relieved when the blonde did so without any hesitation.

 

He laughed when Ed produced a pair of his gloves, telling him how Hawkeye had managed to smuggle them to Al when she checked on him before the woman ordered her away from him. Trust his captain to always carry a spare pair of his gloves. Moments later, Mustang found himself the teacher of a very eager student, trying to explain fire alchemy as best he could in as little time as possible so Ed could get back to the office and the investigation as soon as possible. He was just grateful that Ed was such a quick learner.


	21. Chapter 21

Morgan had been sitting in the same chair for nearly three hours before Ed reappeared from the holding cells with the guard escorting him. Morgan joined his side just as Ed signed himself out and they walked back to the entrance together, nodding goodnights to the guards they passed. Morgan had noticed immediately upon spotting the blonde that looked so much lighter and happier than he had following the guard to Mustang’s cell. Out of respect for Ed and his fear of discussing feelings within earshot of people he didn’t know especially well, Morgan waited until they were out of earshot of the guards before speaking for the first time since they left the building.

 

“What happened? You seem peppier,” Morgan asked, knocking into Ed’s shoulder lightly as they walked.

 

“Yeah, well, turns out Mustang learned how to apologise somewhere because he offered me a really good one,” Ed told him, voice light but Morgan could hear just how much the apology had affected Edward and how far it had gone to mending the damage Mustang had unwittingly created between them.

 

“Good. I’m glad he apologised to you properly because if he didn’t, I’d have to have words with him,” Morgan told him, making Ed coo mockingly at him.

 

“You just wanted to punch Mustang too. Don’t worry, I understand that urge all too well,” Ed pet his arm soothingly before Morgan started laughing at him.

 

“Well, you did get to hit him finally,” Morgan joked and Ed huffed some laughter.

 

“Yeah, it only took me nearly six years. Mustang’s lucky. My self-control in that kind of situation is normally non-existent,” Ed told him, mirth in his voice and Morgan couldn’t stop the grin if he tried.

 

“So, tell me. How does one have to apologise to the mighty Fullmetal Alchemist, the People’s Alchemist, to get him to look so much happier?” Morgan asked teasingly and Ed’s grin got wider.

 

“You’ll have to wait until we get back to the office because I’m not risking someone overhearing us out here and the others should know as well,” Ed told him and Morgan wanted to roll his eyes but resisted somehow. The glare Ed gave him told Morgan he hadn’t been as successful in hiding his desire as he thought he had been.

 

“Speaking of the others, we were ordered by the true leader of our joined teams, JJ, to get dinner if we got back before dark and it’s before dark so suggestions?” Morgan asked and Ed hummed thoughtfully.

 

“We should probably get something quick and easy to eat. Sandwiches or burgers?” Ed asked and Morgan groaned.

 

“Sandwiches would be less messy,” Morgan admitted, already mourning the loss of the burgers. Ed pet his arm sympathetically before leading them towards the mess to grab sandwiches and drinks for everyone before stopping suddenly. “What is it?” Morgan asked, immediately alert and looking for danger.

 

“Actually, we should go to Grumman’s office right now,” Ed told him. “Mustang didn’t recognise the woman in the sketch by name but he did recognise her as someone who was promoted to the rank of major in a ceremony Grumman held a couple of months after Promised Day. Grumman should have a list of everyone he was promoting and the ranks they were to receive so I want the list of people who got promoted to major so we can cross-reference it to everything else.” Morgan thought about it for a moment and realised that even if the others had figured out the woman’s identity while they were gone, this list would just be used to confirm her identity.

 

“Alright, let’s go see the Fuhrer,” Morgan said, using the hand that Ed still had on his arm to nudge him forward. When Ed extracted his hand, Morgan threw his freed arm over Ed’s shoulders and drew the blonde into his side. Both of them didn’t say anything about the fact that Ed’s struggling to get free was just for show. 

* * *

 

Morgan did eventually let Ed wriggle free from his hold but not until the doors to Fuhrer Grumman’s office were in view. Ed gave Morgan a half-hearted glare that had Morgan respond by ruffling the blonde’s hair and letting out a bark of laughter at the squawk Ed made in protest. Of course, Ed stopped his laughter by elbowing him sharply in the side before gracefully moving out of the way of any retaliation.

 

“Stop your shit,” Morgan ordered and grinned at the muffled squeal of disbelief Ed made.

 

“You started it!” Ed said defensively.

 

“What are you, 3?” Morgan laughed as Ed glared at him before flipping him off. Morgan didn’t get the chance to do much in response because Ed immediately turned away from him to open the massive wooden doors.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, I gather you’re here to speak with Fuhrer Grumman?” Samantha asked as soon as she realised who was in the office.

 

“Yup. I doubt we’ll be even five minutes,” Ed told her since Samantha hesitated in allowing them through. Of course, Ed could’ve just barged through the doors but that would be rude and Ed figured Samantha likely had a good reason for not immediately following Grumman’s standing orders for him or Brookes to be allowed permitted into his office the moment they show up, no matter who was in there or what the Fuhrer was doing.

 

“Alright though I feel I should warn you that Generals Widdon and Combes are in there right now. Apparently, they weren’t happy to find out that their orders for Mustang to no longer be permitted visitors had been overturned last night,” Samantha told them. Ed looked a little confused.

 

“How come it took them all day to find out what happened?” Ed asked, curiousity smothering his need to get the list and get back to the office as soon as he could.

 

“Oh, no, they found out almost as soon as they reported to their offices this morning but the Fuhrer was extremely busy today and hasn’t had the opportunity to talk with them until now, no matter how much they insisted that their matter was extremely important,” Samantha told them and Ed and Morgan might’ve taken her answer at face-value except for the fact that Samantha’s lips kept twitching like she was fighting a grin.

 

“If I promise that _I_ won’t start something, can I go in? I promise, I will be in and out unless Grumman needs to ask me something,” Ed told her, giving her only a weak version of his puppy eyes. The flat look she gave him in response told him that she knew what he was trying to do but she shook her head in amusement.

 

“You can go on through. Fuhrer Grumman _did_ say that you and Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes were to have unobstructed access to his office and I’ll ignore any screaming I hear,” Samantha told him, waving him towards the door.

 

“There’s a reason you’re one of my favourite people, Miss Samantha,” Ed told her as he reached the doors to the inner office. Samantha chuckled as she returned to her work while Ed threw the doors open dramatically. “Evening, Fuhrer Grumman,” Ed greeted politely with a salute that Grumman waved him out of, ignoring the indignant splutters of his two least favourite generals as he and Morgan approached the Fuhrer’s desk.

 

“Good evening, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, Mr. Morgan. What can I do for you gentlemen today?” Grumman asked, covering his amused grin behind a hand.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, how dare you just barge into the Fuhrer’s office! Do you lack even the common courtesy to knock first?!” General Combes snapped, outraged. Ed rolled his eyes so Grumman saw but neither general did.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonels Elric and Brookes both have standing permission that grants them entry into this office to speak with me, no matter who else is in here,” Grumman informed Widdon dismissively. “I assume there is some kind of development in the case or your search for my granddaughter?” Grumman asked, turning his attention to Ed and Morgan and ignoring Widdon and Combes completely, leaving the two men to seethe in silence.

 

“Yes,” Ed told him. “As you know from my phone call from the holding cells last night, we were there to speak with Mustang. Thank you for overturning those ridiculous orders, by the way, Sir,” Ed said politely but grinned when Combes practically growled at him. “What are you, a dog? Where are _your_ manners?” Ed sniped, looking over his shoulder to actually look at Combes for the first time upon them entering.

 

“Don’t bother, General Combes,” Grumman ordered, voice hardening instantly when Combes looked as though he was going to retaliate. “You and General Widdon are dismissed with the reminder of our initial agreement we made when I signed the arrest warrant for General Mustang. He is to be given the same allowances as every other prisoner in those holding cells, _including_ the right to visitors. If I find that you have behind my back and disobeyed my direct orders one more time, you will be punished in accordance. Now, get out of my office,” Grumman ordered and the effect was immediate.

 

“Please, _please_ , give Fuhrer Grumman a reason to ask me and Morgan to escort you out because that is one order I will happily and enthusiastically follow,” Ed snarled over the noise of the two generals’ protests. Morgan stood intimidatingly next to Ed with a very unimpressed look on his face.

 

Ed could see Widdon and Combes actually consider protesting further but they did make the only move that wouldn’t end badly for them. They saluted the Fuhrer and turned smartly on their heels before marching out of the office and slamming the door shut behind them but not before everyone heard Samantha sweetly wishing them a good evening.

 

“Drama queens,” Ed muttered at the shut doors before turning back to Grumman. “I kinda wish they hadn’t left as quietly as they did,” Ed sighed wistfully.

 

“I believe you were in the middle of telling me something, Edward,” Grumman reminded him, dropping the need to address those in the room by their title.

 

“Right, so, once we were able to get into Mustang’s cell and informed him of what had happened, we spoke and he actually made a decent suggestion,” Ed told him. “When we asked why Miss Riza would tell Alphonse to tell Mustang it had to do with her father, Mustang realised there was a strong likelihood that the woman behind all of this is a disgraced former apprentice of your son-in-law’s and took Miss Riza because she believes that she knows the secrets behind flame alchemy,” Edward explained.

 

“But my granddaughter doesn’t. My son-in-law destroyed his research before he died so the only one who does is General Mustang,” Grumman was confused. Why would anyone expect a non-alchemist to know how one of the rarest alchemies worked, even if that person was the daughter of the alchemist who invented it?

 

“We know that but Mustang informed us that no one knows that his teacher destroyed his research in the end so it’s possible this woman believes that Miss Riza has access to the research and took her to find out where it was hidden,” Ed explained. “At lunchtime today, Major Armstrong paid my brother a visit so he could sketch the suspect for us. When I visited Mustang to show him the sketch, he recognised her but couldn’t recall hearing her name. What he _did_ recall is that she was promoted to major during the ceremony you held after Promised Day. We’re hoping you kept lists or something of the people you promoted and whether you’d let have the names of every woman who got promoted to major on that day?” Ed asked and Grumman nodded.

 

“Yes, Samantha had been kind enough to separate those I was promoting into groups depending on the rank they would be assigned. I believe I had Samantha file them for me in case they would be needed again at in the future,” Grumman told them. “I’ll have Samantha check for me,” he said, lifting the phone up to call his secretary and soon enough, Samantha was walking into the office and made a beeline for one of the filing cabinets. It took her a minute or so but she soon produced a thin file and handed it over.

 

“If that’s all, Fuhrer Grumman?” Samantha asked, standing perfectly poised next to Edward.

 

“Yes, thank you very much, Samantha,” Grumman said with a small smile. Samantha nodded back and gave him her own smile before leaving the room. “Here you go,” Grumman said once he looked through the file and found the page of those he was promoting to major and handing it over.

 

“Thanks, Grumman,” Ed said as he took it and scanned it immediately. There were a lot of names but only a handful were women, much to Ed’s immediate relief. On the chance that Chambers notebooks and Hawkeye’s journals didn’t give them any leads, they wouldn’t have to hunt down the files for dozens of people to match their photos to the sketch.

 

“I assume you plan on letting Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes know about these developments?” Grumman asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Yeah, actually I figured Morgan and I would swing by his office on our way back and see if he’s still there. We might need Investigations help once we identify the woman,” Ed told him. Morgan, having been told about this on the way to the Fuhrer’s office, didn’t look surprised at this news.

 

“Very good. I expect to be kept in the loop,” Grumman reminded him and Ed nodded immediately.

 

“Of course, Sir. We’ll let you know about every development we make,” Ed promised and Grumman nodded gratefully.

 

“Is there anything else you need, Edward?” Ed shook his head and Grumman gestured to the door. “Then you’re dismissed. Don’t worry about visiting Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes tonight. I’ll have Samantha call him and send him to you. I’d prefer it if you got back to this without any more detours,” Grumman told him and Ed gave him a thankful smile.

 

“Cheers, Fuhrer Grumman. We’ll see you later,” Ed said, giving another salute that Grumman released him from immediately.

 

“Have a good evening, gentlemen,” Grumman said and the two nodded before exiting the office, closing the door much nicer than the generals had.

 

“All done, Edward?” Samantha asked and Ed nodded.

 

“The Fuhrer’s gonna call you in a moment. Thank for letting us through,” Ed smiled at her.

 

“You’re welcome. Have a good night, Sirs,” Samantha said just as the phone rang. Both Ed and Morgan wished her the same before seeing themselves out while Samantha spoke with Grumman.

 

“Mess hall?” Morgan asked once they shut the door behind them. Ed’s stomach rumbled as he nodded.

 

“Mess hall.” 

* * *

 

Morgan and Ed had just about cleaned out the mess of sandwiches and bottles of juice and water and were laughing as they entered the office. Reid was still nose-deep into one of the journals but Ed was pleased to see that most of them had been read, with only the one he was currently reading and another one to finish up. Everyone else seemed to have tackled the notebooks and each person had a piece of paper under their writing hand and an equal pile of notebooks near them.

 

“How’s it going?” Ed asked as he and Morgan walked over, Morgan kicking the door shut behind them, and placing the bags containing food and drinks on the desks.

 

“Good. Spence has been reading the journals you brought back with you and marking down the names of any person who’s mentioned who isn’t a family member. The rest of us have gone back through the notebooks and added to the lists that Lieutenant-Colonel Granger gave us. Mainly just of people who could fit the basics of the description Alphonse gave us; women, alchemist, and would be in their mid-to-late thirties now,” JJ told him with a thankful smile as she reached for the food.

 

Her movements seemed to make everyone else realise there was food and soon enough, the food was all gone. Morgan had grabbed a sandwich and an orange juice for Reid and put them near him so he wouldn’t miss out, chuckling fondly at the genius as he did so. Reid didn’t so much as twitch during their dinner until he finished the journal he was on. Placing it down, he went to grab the next and noticed the food and bottle of juice next to the last journal, causing him to look up sharply and notice that everyone else was either nearly done or already done with their dinners and most of them were looking at him with amusement.

 

“Sorry, got caught up,” Reid grinned sheepishly. “Thanks for the food,” he said as he grabbed the sandwich, looking at both Morgan and Edward.

 

“No worries. Find anything interesting in them?” Ed asked, nodding to the journals Reid had finished reading.

 

“Actually, yeah. Berthold Hawkeye only took on female apprentices, or only took them on when Captain Hawkeye was born. The first male apprentice he mentions is Mustang,” Reid told them in between bites of his dinner.

 

“Well that makes sense,” Prentiss said. “She’s his only daughter. He wouldn’t want to take the risk that one of his apprentices might take advantage of a young Riza,” she pointed out. “By the time he took on Mustang, I imagine Riza was at an age where she could handle herself if anyone paid a little too much attention to her.”

 

“How many apprentices did he have?” Hotch asked. Reid glanced at the list.

 

“It looks like he took on a new apprentice within a year of the last one finishing with him. In total, he had five apprentices that he took one before Mustang,” Ed frowned at that.

 

“Five?” Ed asked and Reid nodded. “How old was Miss Riza, roughly, when Mustang was taken on as an apprentice by her dad?” Ed asked.

 

“From what I could tell in the journals, she was 15 or so,” Reid told him and Ed frowned.

 

“Five in that amount of time seems like a lot,” Ed said, a little disbelieving. “Al and I apprenticed with Teacher for about two years before she allowed us to leave her care, mainly so we could get real-world experience but also because Alphonse wanted to celebrate his 10th birthday with Granny and Winry. However, we’re prodigies so we learned quickly and were at a level that Teacher trusted us not to get ourselves killed doing something stupid.” Reid spotted the brief flash of guilt and shame that crossed Ed’s face and the sympathetic looks that were momentarily visible on Havoc, Breda, Falman and Fuery’s faces. “If Hawkeye took on five apprentices in what? 15 years, that means he would’ve been keeping them on for 3 years each at the most and that doesn’t really seem right to me,” Ed told them.

 

“Some of them weren’t kept on long at all,” Reid told him. “The second girl he took on as an apprentice suffered an unfortunate accident and had to leave his tutelage to return home to recover only a year into her apprenticeship. Another’s parents could no longer afford his fee and she couldn’t cover it herself so she left after six months. The last apprentice Berthold Hawkeye took on before Mustang only lasted about 7 weeks,” Reid told Ed, who looked a little surprised at the last one.

 

“What happened to her to make her leave?” Ed asked, curious as to why someone would leave their teacher only a handful of weeks later. He and Al had been convinced Teacher was going to murder them in their sleep for the first four months under her tutelage but that didn’t make them leave.

 

“The journal didn’t really say much. From what it did say, Captain Hawkeye had been at her grandparent’s place for the summer holidays. This woman, Leah, arrived a day or two after Captain Hawkeye left on the train and left a week before she was due back,” Reid told him. “Berthold Hawkeye didn’t go into detail but it seemed that a week or so before he expelled her, Leah became obsessed with flame alchemy and asked her teacher when he thought she would be ready to learn it. Hawkeye goes on to write that he informed Leah in no uncertain terms that he would not be teaching anyone the art of flame alchemy unless they have proven their worth. From that point until the point she was expelled, Leah became completely volatile and ended up demanding Hawkeye to teach her the alchemy, that she deserved it more so than anyone else and if he didn’t, she would take it for herself. Hawkeye informed her that she had shown her true colours and that she was no longer his student and kicked her out of his house that day.” Ed looked stunned.

 

“Bloody hell, no wonder he kicked her out. My teacher wouldn’t have been so nice.” Ed looked disgusted at her behaviour before he froze for a moment, long enough for everyone to notice his strange behaviour. Havoc batted Morgan’s hand away when he reached out to poke Ed to check he was okay and both of them jumped slightly when Ed unfroze and started digging through his pockets. Morgan recognised the paper he grabbed as the list of names Grumman had given him.

 

“What’s that, Ed?” Fuery asked, looking at the paper with interest.

 

“I showed Mustang the sketch when I talked to him and Mustang recognised the woman as someone who Grumman promoted during a ceremony held after Promised Day. Mustang said Grumman granted her the rank of major but he never caught her name. He said that he’s seen her a few times in the last few months but never thought anything of it because none of the times he saw her gave him any cause to be suspicious. Morgan and I went and saw Grumman before we came back here and he gave me a list of the people he promoted to major during the ceremony,” Ed explained, waving the bit of paper. “This is that list,” he said unnecessarily before looking down at it and scanning it. “There’s a woman named Leah Belmont listed here. Did Chambers notebooks mention her?” Ed asked but he’d barely started asking when everyone immediately consulted their lists.

 

“Granger’s list has a Leah Belmont written on it,” Rossi said, holding up the bit of paper.

 

“Which notebook was she written in?” Ed asked and Rossi glanced at the paper again before scanning the notebooks in front of him and grabbing one about fourth from the bottom of the pile.

 

“Here,” Rossi said, sliding it across the desks to Ed, who snatched it up immediately and rifled through the pages. It took him a few minutes of scanning but he finally made a victorious noise.

 

“Here it is,” Ed said gleefully. “Chambers wrote in that Leah Belmont was asked to demonstrate her skills as a wood and earth alchemist upon review of her application. He went on to say that the arrays she used were simple enough that any earth or wood alchemist would be able to achieve the same or similar results, no matter their power level. Upon further review of her application, Chambers believed her to be almost obsessed with becoming a State Alchemist and the benefits that go with such a title and believed she would be a danger and hindrance to the military rather than a boon. He denied her application and she turned violent upon receiving the dismissal. She demanded he change his mind and permit her into the State Alchemist program or she would end him. Chambers had her escorted out of his office but continued receiving threats he believed were from her for a few weeks before they stopped,” Ed summarised the incident for everyone. Just as he finished speaking, a knock interrupted any comments that would have been made and Ed jolted. “Enter,” he called, fairly certain he knew who would walk through the door.

 

“Good evening, everyone,” Brookes greeted, smiling at them all as he entered the room.

 

“Brookes, hey, good timing. You can pull military personnel files, right?” Ed asked before anyone could greet the lieutenant-colonel. Brookes looked a little startled at the seemingly random question.

 

“Yes, so long as the soldier in question is currently stationed in Central. If the soldier has moved to one of our sister cities, their file goes with them to be handed in to the investigations department there,” Brookes told him and Ed’s grin got even wider.

 

“Awesome. Can you go and grab the file for a Leah Belmont?” Ed asked, practically vibrating in his chair with anticipation.

 

“Sure. I’ll be back soon,” Brookes said, a little amused by Ed’s behaviour. He exited the office and hurried to the personnel room near his office. He couldn’t help this feeling that Ed might be on to something massive.

 

 

It didn’t take Brookes long to find Leah Belmont’s file, aided by the fact that her last name started with ‘b’. Once he had her file in hand, he headed right back to Edward’s office. He knew that Ed must’ve been onto something when Fuhrer Grumman’s secretary, Samantha, had called him a short while ago and asked him to head to Edward’s office as soon as he could manage. He had been in the middle of reading a report and hadn’t wanted to re-read it again later and Samantha hadn’t said anything about it being urgent so he finished the report, signed off on it and headed for Edward’s office ten minutes after the call.

 

He’d been meaning to pay the young lieutenant-colonel a visit ever since he’d been told about Captain Hawkeye’s kidnapping and Alphonse’s assault but he hadn’t had the time to spare that day. He’d glimpsed Edward and Doctor Reid leaving just before lunch but he’d been on his way to a meeting and couldn’t stop. By the time he was back in the office, he’d had a mountain of paperwork piled on his desk that needed to be finished so he’d resolved to drop by Edward’s office once he was finished with it. He’d sincerely doubted Edward would be leaving the office until he’d uncovered a lead that would give him her location. The phone call from Samantha had been a welcome relief from the seemingly unending pile of papers.

 

“That was quick,” Ed said, looking surprised that the person he’d just admitted entrance into his office was Brookes.

 

“Her last name made things easier,” Brookes told him, handing the file over to Ed’s eager hands. He watched as Ed smoothed out a sketch of a woman and placed it on the table before flipping the file open to reveal Leah Belmont’s military photo and lining the two images up side by side and let out an elated whoop.

 

“Tell me that that isn’t her!” Ed crowed victoriously as everyone in the office gathered around him and looked at the images for themselves. Soon there were praises for doing a good job and whatnot filling the office, as well as slaps on the backs and more than one person ruffling Ed’s hair.

 

“Would someone like to fill me in?” Brookes asked, effectively cutting through the celebratory noise and reminding them that he was still there and had no idea what was happening.

 

“We just identified the woman behind framing Mustang, kidnapping Miss Riza and assaulting my brother!” Ed told him ecstatically and Brookes felt like his brain was filled with static for a moment.

 

“Are you serious?” Brookes asked, dazed that they might have actually managed to find someone who had eluded him for two months in less than a week.

 

“You better sit down, Brookes, because we got a lot to catch you up on,” Ed grinned, waving him over to the desks and Brookes once again found himself doing as he was asked by Edward. 

* * *

 

“All of that happened in the last 24 hours?” Brookes asked incredulously after everyone had caught him to speed. He’d never admit it out loud but Brookes had a feeling that if Alphonse and Hawkeye hadn’t been attacked, they likely would never have identified Leah Belmont in the time they had left. Hell, if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure they’d have been able to identify her before Mustang was on the business end of a firing squad.

 

“Yup,” Ed told him. “Like I said, a lot has happened,” Ed told him and Brookes nodded in agreement.

 

“Alright. What do we do now?” Brookes asked, looking at Hotch for their orders.

 

“You’ll be with us to make the arrest when we catch up with this woman,” Hotch told him, much to Brookes’ surprise.

 

“Why am I the one making the arrest?” Brookes asked, interrupting Hotch before he could continue.

 

“Because that’s how my team operates. Technically, you are still the lead investigator on this case so therefore, you will be the one to make the arrest. My team helps find the unsub; we don’t take credit for their arrest from the local law enforcement,” Hotch told him.

 

“We discussed this when you went and got Belmont’s file,” Havoc told him. “Ed raised an interesting point. Who would get the collar?” Havoc said.

 

“My team was only granted permission to investigate the case but we were not given jurisdiction to arrest any suspects,” Hotch told Brookes, “which means that none of my team will be assisting in the rescue of Captain Hawkeye nor the arrest of Major Belmont in any capacity other than securing the perimeter of the property where Captain Hawkeye is being held. Of course, if Major Belmont was to manage to avoid Ed’s team and yourself and try to get through us, we will be allowed to act in self-defense but we cannot arrest her,” Hotch finished explaining.

 

“Like Hotch said; you’re the lead on this case,” Ed told him, “so the arrest will be yours. Besides, if me or Mustang’s team made the arrest, you can bet that General Dick and General Arsehole will chuck a tantrum over it, insisting we somehow fabricated the whole thing or blackmailed Belmont into taking the fall or something. If you make the arrest, they won’t put up a fuss because then they’ll have to answer a few uncomfortable questions,” Ed smugly pointed out.

 

“’Uncomfortable questions’?” Brookes asked, not exactly sure what Ed meant by that.

 

“How long have you been working under them?” Ed asked and Brookes thought about it.

 

“Nearly two years now,” Brookes said.

 

“In that time, have they ever accused you of not doing a good job?” Ed asked and Brookes shook his head. “Exactly,” Ed beamed at him. Brookes was still confused. “Imagine what would happen if they accused you of going along with our nefarious plot to frame an innocent woman to try and free Mustang or if they accused you of not doing your job properly coupled with the fact that they’ve been irritatingly vocal about how guilty Mustang is. All I or someone else would have to do is ask them why they never raised their concerns with how you do your job at any time in the last two years if they were so worried about it or were they just trying anything they could to keep Mustang in jail,” Ed explained and Brookes’ eyes widened in understanding.

 

“You’d be forcing them to admit that they either lied about their accusations of me or that they were just trying to undermine the arrest so Mustang wouldn’t be released,” Brookes clarified and Ed nodded.

 

“Yup,” Ed said. “You arresting Belmont will be the best chance we get at not having those two try to interfere.” Brookes nodded in understanding.

 

“Alright. So what do we do now to find her?” He asked and Hotch took the chance to explain what he’d been about to before Brookes questioned why he would be the arresting officer.

 

“We need to know everything we can about this woman. Where she lives, who she works under, her hobbies and skills, etc.,” Hotch told them. “Once we have all the facts, we can make a plan for the arrest.”

 

“Our first course of action should be identifying just how much of a threat Belmont’s alchemy is,” Ed told them. “Just because her hand-to-hand and stealth skills leave a bit to be desired doesn’t mean she isn’t competent with her alchemy,” Ed said.

 

“She took Al down in hand-to-hand so she must be pretty good,” Havoc pointed out.

 

“Al isn’t back up to his full strength yet. Unbelievably, Teacher was concerned that her usual teaching methods would do Al more bad than good so she hasn’t been pushing him in training as hard up until a month or so ago,” Ed told them. “Right now, I would beat Al in a strictly hand-to-hand fight. In a couple of months, I doubt I could claim the same thing.”

 

“Wait, your younger brother could beat you in a fight?” Morgan asked teasingly. Ed shrugged nonchalantly.

 

“Al’s always been better at hand-to-hand than me. I’m still an excellent fighter but Al is better. Just like how Al is also an alchemic prodigy but I still beat him at that,” Ed told him before turning back to the rest of them. “If we know her alchemy and other combat skills, we can plan for them,” he said.

 

“We can ask her commanding officer,” Hotch said, nodding to Ed so the blonde wouldn’t think he was being dismissive before addressing everyone else. “I think it should go without saying but Major Belmont needs to be taken in alive, if possible. With how much effort and planning it took to execute this whole frame job, I’m almost certain Major Belmont would have written her research down and kept it somewhere safe but if she destroyed her notes or never made them in the first place, we will need her to give a confession so we can free Mustang,” Hotch told them. “Belmont would only go down for the kidnapping of Captain Hawkeye and assault of Alphonse if we can’t find evidence of her being the murderer or she’s not alive to confess and Mustang will never be released,” Hotch warned.

 

“So, who is Major Belmont’s commanding officer?” Havoc asked and Brookes consulted the file on her.

 

“Colonel Joshua Rubio,” Brookes told them. “She joined his team shortly after Promised Day. Her previous commanding officer was killed during the fight, as were three other members of her team. Colonel Rubio lost two members of his team during the fight as well, including the alchemist assigned to his team. Even though she wasn’t a State Alchemist, Belmont was chosen as the replacement because of her alchemic talent and offered the promotion to major at the same time,” Brookes informed them.

 

“Wait, we theorised that the reason she waited until now to strike against Mustang and Hawkeye was because she was waiting for some self-assigned goal to pass, right?” Rossi asked suddenly before plowing on before anyone could answer. “We know she applied to be a State Alchemist and was refused so what if she decided that once she reached the rank she would’ve received automatically if she’d been accepted into the State Alchemy program, she would start planning her revenge?” Rossi asked.

 

“It makes sense. Mustang gets a lot of crap mainly because he’s risen through the ranks so quickly despite his age. It is why Summers didn’t like him, after all,” Brookes reminded them. “He did get a big leg up because he was granted the rank of major when he was accepted as a State Alchemist. If Belmont was rejected by Berthold Hawkeye and later found out that the very next apprentice he took on was taught the flame alchemy she thought she entitled to know and _then_ found out he was accepted in the State Alchemy program while she was rejected, she would’ve been pissed. Add on the fact that Mustang used his flame alchemy to get accepted and it’s really no wonder she decided to focus all of her rage and hate on Mustang. Twice she was rejected for something that was immensely important to her and Mustang ended up being accepted for them,” Brookes told them and was a little surprised at the slightly shocked expressions on some of their faces.

 

“You’d fit in on their team,” Havoc told him, jerking his head towards the BAU and Brookes felt the tips of his ears turn red.

 

“Does anyone know if Colonel Rubio has left for the day?” Ed asked, diverting their attention from Brookes.

 

“I think so,” Falman said. “Rubio normally finishes by 5:00pm so long as he doesn’t have any pressing cases he’s working on and I haven’t heard anything saying he is.”

 

“Do you know where his office is?” Hotch asked and Falman nodded. “Can you and Morgan go and check to make sure he is gone?” Falman and Morgan nodded in agreement before disappearing out of the door.

 

“Should we tell the Fuhrer that we identified her?” Fuery asked and Hotch considered.

 

“Yes. We did promise to keep him in the loop so we should tell him,” Hotch finally said. “Rossi, Havoc, would you mind heading up to the Fuhrer’s office and inform him that we have identified our suspect and warn him that we’ll be coming up later for arrest and search warrants?” He asked and both men nodded before leaving just as quickly as Morgan and Falman had. “The rest of us should go over her personnel file and see what it tells us,” Hotch told them, “though I want someone to go over the notes for the interview of Belmont conducted by Lieutenant-Colonel Granger’s team,” Hotch said and JJ raised her hand.

 

“I’ll do it, Hotch,” she offered and Hotch dipped his head gratefully.

 

“Thank you, JJ,” Hotch said and she gave him a smile before she started sorting through their mess to find the interview notes. A thought occurred to Hotch in that moment. “Brookes, would the military still have the applications for State Alchemist hopefuls from 10, 15 years ago?” He asked.

 

“I know we certainly kept the applications of everyone who was accepted into the program but I’m not sure about those rejected. I can head back to the personnel room and check now, if you’d like?” Brookes offered and Hotch nodded.

 

“Please. I’d like to read it and see what it says,” Hotch said and Brookes nodded. “You can take Fuery with you,” he told him. Brookes was a little surprised at the fact that he was being paired up but didn’t argue. He just nodded and followed Fuery out the door. 

* * *

 

“Lieutenant Havoc, Mr. Rossi, how can I help you?” Samantha asked once she recovered from her momentary surprise at having the two of them walk through the doors.

 

“Hello, Samantha, we need to speak with Fuhrer Grumman. It’s urgent,” Havoc told her and she nodded.

 

“I’ll let you through,” she told them, getting up from behind her desk and knocking on the Fuhrer’s office doors.

 

“Enter,” Grumman called out and Samantha did as she was asked.

 

“Lieutenant Havoc and Mr. Rossi here to see you, Your Excellency,” Samantha announced as she stepped to the side and allowed the two men to walk past her.

 

“Thank you, Samantha,” Grumman nodded to his secretary, who merely nodded in return before disappearing back out the doors. “Has there been a new development? Lieutenant-Colonel Elric was only here an hour ago,” Grumman asked, straightening in his seat and looking at them expectantly.

 

“Yes, Sir, there has been,” Havoc said once he’d been released from his salute.

 

“We’ve identified your granddaughter’s kidnapper and Alphonse’s assailant. We also have reason to believe she is the person behind the five murders and the assault that General Mustang has been charged with,” Rossi told him. “Thanks to the joint efforts of mine and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s teams, we uncovered some journals that your deceased son-in-law wrote for his daughter. One of those journals contained a name of a former apprentice who was expelled after seven weeks when she exhibited an alarmingly obsessive interest in flame alchemy. We checked for her name in both the notebooks Frank Chambers had kept throughout his career and on the list you gave Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and found it. We believe her to be Major Leah Belmont. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes pulled her file for us and her military photograph matches the sketch of the woman Alphonse described as his attacker to Major Armstrong,” Rossi explained and Grumman looked relieved.

 

“What is your plan now?” Grumman asked, feeling his pulse race now that he had the name of the person responsible for all of this.

 

“We need to speak with her commanding office, Colonel Joshua Rubio, and find out more about her alchemy and skillset so we know what we’re going up against. Once we’ve spoken with him, I believe the plan is to have Lieutenant-Colonel Elric use his tracking array on any place we feel Captain Hawkeye is being held captive to confirm she is in there and whether Major Belmont is nearby. The BAU will be acting in a supportive capacity and will hold the perimeter while Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, his team and Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes will enter the building to rescue Captain Hawkeye and arrest Major Belmont,” Rossi informed him. “Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes will also have his team on standby to search through the building and Major Belmont’s homes, should Captain Hawkeye not be held hostage there,” Rossi finished explaining.

 

“Why have Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes and his team make the arrest and search the buildings?” Grumman asked, finding it unusual that credit for the arrest and closing the case would go to Brookes rather than Edward and his team.

 

“Partly because the BAU doesn’t operate by taking credit from the lead investigator – Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes, in this case – and because Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and my team have agreed that Generals Combes and Widdon are less likely to try and argue the arrest and any evidence found is part of a conspiracy cooked up by General Mustang’s team to get him out of prison,” Rossi explained and Grumman nodded in understanding. That would be the wisest course of action to achieve the least amount of arguments from those two generals.

 

“Very well. What do you need me to do?” Grumman asked, assuming they weren’t here just to pass along the news that they identified their unsub.

 

“We would appreciate it if you could have arrest and search warrants ready to be signed for us to take when we’re ready to move in and make the arrest,” Rossi requested.

 

“You’ll have them. The only thing I need from you is Lieutenant-Colonel Elric to come up with you so he can swear the address you give me for the search warrant is the one Captain Hawkeye is being held at. You need provide me with irrefutable evidence that she is being held at that address and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s tracking array is one of the best pieces of evidence you could provide,” Grumman told them. Both men nodded in agreement easily.

 

“Of course, Sir,” Havoc bowed slightly.

 

“I imagine I’ll see you before morning light,” Grumman said, smiling knowingly. From what he knew of Mustang and Brookes’ men and the little he knew of the BAU, they wouldn’t rest now that they were so close.

 

“I would honestly be surprised if you didn’t, Fuhrer Grumman, Sir,” Havoc smirked in agreement. “By your leave?” He said, gesturing to the door and Grumman nodded.

 

“I’ll have those warrants drawn and ready to be signed when you need them. Good evening, gentlemen,” Grumman promised and Havoc snapped a salute.

 

“We’ll see you then, Sir,” he said and was waved out of the salute. Both Rossi and Havoc didn’t linger any longer and left the office, eager to get back to the others as quickly as possible. 

* * *

 

Havoc and Rossi entered the office in time to catch Falman and Morgan inform the others that Colonel Rubio wasn’t in his office and that they’d found someone who confirmed he had gone home for the evening, which is why they’d taken more time than they should’ve.

 

“Grumman has been informed and has promised to have the warrants ready to be signed when we go up to collect them. Ed,” Rossi said, directing his words to the blonde now, “you need to go with whoever collects those warrants and give your word that you saw Captain Hawkeye in the building with your tracking array,” Rossi told him and Ed nodded.

 

“I guess I’m going with whoever interrogates Colonel Rubio than. Might as well go to the address in Belmont’s file and see if she’s there before we come back here,” Ed said.

 

“Then you’re with me, Prentiss and Falman,” Hotch told him and Ed nodded. That’s the moment that Fuery and Brookes decided to arrive back, Brookes clutching a file in his hands.

 

“Sorry we took so long. Took us a lot longer to find than I thought,” Brookes said as he handed the file to Ed.

 

“Cheers,” Ed said as he opened the file immediately and started going over it, ignoring the rest of them while he was reading. The others waited for Ed to go over it patiently and it didn’t take long for Ed to finish reading the important parts. “Okay, so basically what Chambers said was accurate. Belmont is efficient in earth and wood alchemy and competent with stone alchemy, though she’s not as strong in that area as the first two. She showed competence in hand-to-hand fighting and marksmanship but they did note that should she be admitted into the program, more training in those areas was recommended. In the end, she was rejected because her alchemy was nothing no other earth, stone or wood alchemist could do or any other decent alchemist with a different specialty, like Mustang, would be able to pull off and her psychological assessment concerned the assessors. She seemed far too fixated on the power being a State Alchemist would grant her and kept mentioning how being a State Alchemist was something she felt she was owed,” Ed told them. “What does her actual file say about her weapons and fighting skillset?” Ed asked and Emily swept up the file in question.

 

“She received the same training as everyone else. Her hand-to-hand fighting was considered passable while her skillset with daggers was marked higher than her weaponless fighting. She didn’t seem to suit a sword at all and she marked highly on her marksman tests. When asked to demonstrate how she would use her alchemy in a combat situation, the assessor said she managed to show adequate offensive moves but her alchemy would likely be more useful as a defensive tool. In the end, they recommended she be armed with a standard military pistol and a set of knives for offensive purposes,” Prentiss read out to them and Ed nodded.

 

“So, she’s likely to use her gun or knives defensively and her alchemy offensively,” Ed summarised.

 

“It seems that way,” Prentiss agreed. “Ed, will you be alright going up against her if she uses her weapons?” Prentiss asked, concerned for the blonde’s well-being.

 

“Course I will,” Ed told her, a confident smirk on his face. “’sides, even if her alchemy _was_ a challenge, I have two aces up my sleeve,” Ed told them, deciding now was the time to reveal what he’d kept from them.

 

“Are you gonna share with the class, blondie?” Morgan asked as the others watched expectantly.

 

“You all have to swear to me that none of you will ever tell anyone about what I can do,” Ed told them, voice and body language clearly showing just how serious he was. The seriousness got everyone’s undivided attention.

 

“We promise, Ed,” Hotch told him and all of the others nodded and gave their promises.

 

“I’m deadly serious. You can’t even tell Al or Hawkeye. I’ll tell them myself but you can’t say anything to them unless you are absolutely certain you won’t be overheard or spied on,” Ed couldn’t stress the importance. “Well, the first thing I tell you about is less sensitive than the second thing and my team already know about it but I’d still prefer neither be spoken about until I’m ready to reveal them to the military,” Ed told them.

 

“Jeez, kid, do you want as to sign a contract in our blood? We promise we won’t say anything to anyone,” Morgan told him and Ed cracked a smile at that.

 

“Nothing that drastic,” Ed assured him. “Okay, so the first thing is that my alchemy has evolved,” Ed told them.

 

“’Evolved’?” Rossi asked and Ed nodded.

 

“I don’t need to clap for any alchemy that doesn’t exchange energy for something,” Ed told them before looking at the desk to see what he could transmute with. Grabbing a random notepad – JJ’s, he thought – he ripped out a couple of blank pages and touched them. Blue alchemic energy danced across the pages and soon enough, he had what he wanted.

 

“Oh, Ed, that’s amazing,” JJ said as she accepted the paper tulips Ed had made.

 

“Suck-up,” Morgan muttered next to him before letting out an ‘oomph’ when Ed elbowed him. “Rude,” he complained as he rubbed the spot Ed got him.

 

“So, you don’t need to clap now?” Reid asked curiously.

 

“Only if I’m not physically transmuting something,” Ed told him. “If I’m using my tracking array, for example, I still need to clap to form the circle because I’m not manipulating something tangible,” he explained and Reid nodded.

 

“So, what’s the top-secret second thing you need to tell us, chief?” Havoc asked and Ed fidgeted a little. He wasn’t exactly sure how the team would take this but his nerves about their reaction were nothing on what he felt every time he thought about Hawkeye’s reaction. Mustang may have stressed to him that he definitely had Hawkeye’s blessing but the woman herself hadn’t actually agreed to it so Ed wasn’t certain.

 

“Mustang decided to apologise to me for what he said to me yesterday by –“ Ed cut himself off before gritting his teeth and forcing himself to just rip the band-aid off, “by teaching me flame alchemy.” He kind of rushed it out a little but not enough that he wouldn’t be understood. He forced himself to keep his eyes on the group, to see their reactions rather than avert his eyes like a coward.

 

Rather than the confusion or anger he’d expected to see, he found himself faced with mostly positive expressions. The Amestrians mainly had disbelief though – Ed felt his heart warm – it seemed to be because they couldn’t believe Mustang would share the secrets and not because it was Ed who was told. Ed felt himself flush when he realised there was pride on just about everyone’s faces, not just the Amestrians, and just about everyone looked like they approved immensely. Brookes looked a little lost and there were some concerned faces – mainly JJ and Reid – that had Ed worried that they might not approve. JJ seemed to notice this and she gripped his flesh arm reassuringly.

 

“Ed, I’m not worried about you knowing flame alchemy because I don’t approve of you knowing it. I’m concerned because I’m worried that you knowing it will make you more of a target. You’re the one who said that the majority of the time you were kidnapped, it was because your kidnapper thought you knew about flame alchemy,” JJ explained softly.

 

“I’ll be fine, Miss JJ,” Ed told her, giving her a small, soft smile. “No one outside of this room and Mustang, Hawkeye and Al will know about this and it’s not like I can’t take care of myself,” Ed said with a smirk that had JJ rolling her eyes.

 

“I’m still allowed to worry,” JJ told him, poking his forehead and causing him to grumble while the others laughed.

 

“It’s a bit poetic, don’t you think?” Reid said, getting blank looks for the most part. “Major Belmont was expelled as Berthold Hawkeye’s apprentice because he refused to teach her fire alchemy and Ed’s going to use it against her for going after her ex-teacher’s student and daughter,” Reid explained and Ed chuckled a little.

 

“That’s part of the reason Mustang decided to teach me,” Ed admitted, causing a couple of chuckles around the room.

 

“Do you know where Hawkeye hid Mustang’s gloves and research that she removed from his home so the generals couldn’t touch it?” Fuery asked and Ed shook his head.

 

“No. Why?” Ed asked, thinking maybe Fuery was going to suggest that Ed start reading the research to get a better grasp of flame alchemy, rather than going up against Belmont with only the basics he knew from Mustang. Though, in all fairness to Mustang, he did manage to teach him quite a bit in the limited time they’d spent working on it.

 

“Won’t you need a pair of his gloves?” Fuery asked and Ed made an ‘ah’ of understanding.

 

“No, I already have a pair,” Ed told him, pulling his pair out of his pocket. “Miss Riza still had a pair on her when Belmont lured her and Al into the alleyway. Probably because it was a force of habit but she managed to hide them in Al’s pocket before Belmont ordered her away from him. He gave them to me when I left the hospital after he woke up,” Ed explained. Fuery seemed satisfied that Ed wasn’t going to not be able to use flame alchemy now.

 

“We should head out to Colonel Rubio’s home to interview him, if there’s nothing else anyone else has to tell us?” Hotch asked, a raised brow in Ed’s direction and amusement in his eyes. “Do we have his address?” Hotch directed this question to Brookes.

 

“Yeah, he’d be listed as one of Belmont’s emergency contact, just like General Mustang would be listed as one of the emergency contacts in all of your files,” Brookes said, gesturing to Mustang’s team and Ed. “That way, if she ever ended up in hospital, her CO would know where she is,” Brookes explained, taking the file from Prentiss and looking at it. “Yeah, here it is,” he said, showing it to Hotch then Edward.

 

“Got it,” Ed said. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Ed exclaimed, striding for the door as Prentiss shook her head before she, Hotch and Falman followed the blonde out the office. 

* * *

 

They grabbed a car and driver from the military car park and Ed recited the address to the driver and soon enough, they were heading towards it.

 

“I think I shouldn’t go in with you guys right away,” Ed piped up while they were still being driven. “I should go to the address listed as Belmont’s residence and check to see if she’s there. If she isn’t, I’ll come back and we can ask Rubio where she could be and if she is, at least we’ll know,” Ed explained before there could be any protests.

 

“You need someone to stay with you,” Hotch told him but Ed shook his head.

 

“No, neither you or Miss Emily should go with me and you can’t be without a military escort, especially not now, so Falman can’t come with either. I’ll stay in the car with the driver since it’s not like I need to leave the car to use my tracking array anyway and I’ll come straight back and join up with you guys again,” Ed promised. None of the three with him looked like they wanted to let him anywhere out of their sight but none of them could argue.

 

“Okay. As long as you stay in the car until you get back here,” Hotch ordered and Ed promised. “Do you know her address?” Hotch asked.

 

“Yup. I memorised it when I looked at Rubio’s address,” Ed told him. Hotch still didn’t look happy with the idea but he didn’t push the matter any further and the rest of the drive was spent in silence. 

* * *

 

Hotch, Falman and Prentiss all left the car once it came to a stop in front of a mediocre looking house. Ed eyed it and decided it could probably do with a paint job but it didn’t look too bad considering it was in one of the older parts of Central. It wasn’t overly big but Ed could see a couple of kids toys in the front yard and went to tell Hotch and the others but realised they’d notice them soon enough if they hadn’t already.

 

The three who’d left the car watched as it pulled away after another promise from Ed to be careful, not to leave the car and to come back here right away. Granted, the promise had been paired with an eye roll in typical Ed fashion but they still appreciated it and headed up the path to the front door once the car had pulled away.

 

“Can I help you?” Colonel Joshua Rubio was slightly shorter than average and little more portly then most men in the military would be. He looked to be in his 40’s and had a dark complexion. He frowned at them, obviously confused as to why there were strangers standing on his doorstep.

 

“We’re sorry for interrupting your evening, Colonel Rubio,” Falman saluted and Rubio released it in an almost dismissive gesture.

 

“I assume it’s important?” Rubio asked and Falman nodded. “You’re welcome inside but keep your voices down. My wife has only just managed to get our children to sleep,” Rubio said, standing aside to let them inside.

 

“Thank you, Sir. We promise to be as quick as we can be,” Falman assured him.

 

“Very well. Follow me through to the living room,” Rubio said, a little gruffly as he made his way through them to lead them to the room he wanted them in. “Take a seat,” he waved at the couch as he took up the armchair. Hotch and Prentiss did as gestured while Falman chose to stand. Rubio didn’t comment on his choice.

 

“As Lieutenant Falman said, we’re sorry we had to intrude on you this evening but it’s important that we speak with you now rather than wait for morning,” Hotch told him. “My name is Aaron Hotchner and this is Emily Prentiss, one of my co-workers. We are part of the six-man team Fuhrer Grumman has permitted to look into the crimes former General Mustang was charged with to see whether our expertise in this sort of crime would lead to another suspect or confirm that he is indeed guilty of the crimes he was charged with,” Hotch explained and Rubio nodded.

 

“I’ve seen you around the base in the last couple of days and have heard the rumours about why you’re here,” Rubio told them. “But I don’t understand why you are in my home right now,” Rubio was still frowning.

 

“Have you heard that Alphonse Elric was attacked and Captain Hawkeye was kidnapped last night?” Hotch asked and Rubio nodded.

 

“I heard the rumours,” he admitted.

 

“Alphonse regained consciousness last night and was able to provide a description of his attacker to Major Armstrong at lunch time today so he could draw us a sketch of the suspect. When Lieutenant-Colonel Elric showed this sketch to former General Mustang this afternoon, he recognised the woman as being someone who received a promotion to major during the ceremony Fuhrer Grumman held after Promised Day, though he never caught her name. Because of this information, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric was able to obtain a list from Fuhrer Grumman, containing the names of all those promoted to major during that ceremony. When compared to a couple of other sources we had, we were able to find a name and confirm the identity, thanks to their military photo contained in their file,” Hotch told him. Both he and Prentiss were studying the man for signs that he knew who they were talking about but he gave no such signs; rather, he still looked puzzled as to what that had to do with him.

 

“We identified her as Major Leah Belmont,” Prentiss told him and sure enough, genuine shock flashed across Rubio’s face.

 

“Belmont?” He asked incredulously, almost laughing at how absurd it was until he realised they were completely serious. “You’re telling me Belmont attacked Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s brother and kidnapped Captain Hawkeye?” He asked disbelievingly.

 

“We believe so, Colonel Rubio, and that’s not all,” Hotch informed him. “We also believe her to be the one to frame former General Mustang.” At this, Rubio really did laugh.

 

“Look, Belmont is a good soldier and she’s smart but she’s not capable of pulling something of that magnitude off,” Rubio told them. “I spoke with Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes when it started looking real bad for Mustang so I know how well he was framed. Never did believe Mustang was behind it all,” Rubio said gruffly, “but I find it hard to believe that Belmont was the real perpetrator.”

 

“We can understand why you wouldn’t believe us without knowing all of the evidence we collected but there is no denying she was the one behind the attacks last night. According to Alphonse Elric, she claimed to have personal motive for wanting Mustang out of the way; she believed he had stolen the secrets to flame alchemy that she felt like were hers to know and hers alone,” Hotch told him. “We’ve seen her rejected State Alchemist application and part of the reason she was denied a position in the program was because her assessors felt as though she was too obsessed with the power that position would grant her.” Hotch saw Rubio absorb this information.

 

“That would explain her resistance to go near Mustang,” he said slowly. “On the few occasions my team have had paperwork Mustang or someone in his team needed, she would only ever take them if ordered. Any time the man was within her sight, I always thought I saw hate – or strong dislike, at the very least – in her eyes before it was gone a moment later. I never thought anything of it because not everyone likes Mustang but I always did think I should find out why her opinion of him was so negative. I just never got around to it,” Rubio said. “But I still don’t understand what this has to do with Alphonse Elric or Captain Hawkeye,” he confessed.

 

“It’ll become public knowledge soon anyway but Belmont was briefly apprenticed by the same man who later became General Mustang’s alchemy teacher. That man was Captain Hawkeye’s father and he developed flame alchemy. Our investigation has uncovered proof that Belmont became alarmingly obsessed with flame alchemy within weeks of being apprenticed under Hawkeye and ended up being expelled because she started demanding he teach her and became violent towards the end when he refused to,” Prentiss told Rubio. “From what we understand, Belmont believes that Captain Hawkeye knows the secrets of flame alchemy, or at least knows where her father’s research is,” she explained.

 

“Where was Major Belmont today?” Hotch asked and Rubio’s eyes widened before he put his head in his hands.

 

“She never showed for work today,” he told them. “I never reported her as she’s never done this before so I believed she had a good reason for missing work,” he sighed. “Shit, is she really behind all of what you’re saying?” Rubio asked.

 

“I’m afraid that we are,” Hotch told him.

 

“She’s been a bit obsessive with following the murders but I never thought anything of it because we all were. It wasn’t every day that someone was killed like that, let alone several prominent military members,” Rubio told them, looking like he really wished he had a stiff drink in his hand. “When it was announced that Mustang had been arrested, she looked victorious but I assumed it was because she might’ve suspected it was him all along and had been proven right but it wasn’t because of that, was it? Her plan had been successful,” Rubio sighed once more. “What do you need from me?” He finally asked, looking resigned.

 

“Anything you can tell us about Belmont would be helpful,” Hotch told him. “Her interests, hobbies, work habits, any place she liked visiting, anything like that.” Rubio didn’t say anything for a few moments, gathering his thoughts before speaking.

 

“I don’t know her all that well. She was attached to my team two weeks after Promised Day but my team was assigned clean up so aside from seeing her in the morning to assign her to an area and finding her in the afternoon to tell her to go home, I never spoke to her for the first two months of her being under my command. When Fuhrer Grumman held that ceremony, it was in part to celebrate the majority of the clean up being completed, as well as give promotions and address the citizens for the first time as Fuhrer,” Rubio told them.

 

“With the majority of the grunt work done, all that was left for the city to recover was to rebuild damaged buildings and that was left to construction workers and alchemists who could help, so the military went more or less back to normal,” he continued. “I know that Belmont is a hard worker. She never disobeys an order without good cause and those were few and far between. She’s always on time for work and stays behind more often than not to make sure everything’s ready for the next day. She’s more likely to head back to her home and read on a Friday or Saturday night than go out drinking. It took her a little while to fit in with my team, mainly because the reassignment wasn’t anything anyone was expecting,” Rubio said.

 

“As I said, she enjoys books and spending her weekends at home with her cat. She’s dedicated to improving her alchemy so she’s also likely to be found in any library she can get into without being a State Alchemist. I know she was extremely proud to have been promoted to major and when I asked why, she just told me that it had been a goal of her so she could prove something to someone. She doesn’t have any family, except for a brother, I think, but they don’t talk and from what little I know, he lives beyond West City,” Rubio seemed to be struggling to remember things now.

 

“How did her parents die?” Hotch asked.

 

“Her father was a soldier and he was killed in a car accident. I believe she was nearing her 14th birthday. Her mother grew ill only a few months after her father passed and she died only a year later,” Rubio told them. “She was 15 and she moved from Central for a little while for some reason. She moved back when she was 16 and worked in various positions before joining the military at 18,” Rubio told them.

 

“Do you know if there has ever been any kind of complaint made against her while she’s been in the military?” Prentiss asked and Rubio shook his head.

 

“Like I said, she’s refused orders before but she’s never been written up for them as she was able to provide adequate reason for doing so,” Rubio told them. “Other than that, I can’t think of anything that stood out in her file. All else I can tell you is that she’s more of recluse than a socialite. No one on my team has ever been invited over to her place for drinks and she’s refused nearly every offer to join us for a night out,” Rubio said, shrugging his shoulders as he slumped a little. Hotch figured he could forgive him for his lack of manners since he had just been told someone under his command is guilty of kidnapping and assault but then he noticed how Rubio’s frame went rigid for a moment before relaxing again. A glimpse at Prentiss told him that she had noticed it as well.

 

“What did you just think of, Colonel Rubio?” Prentiss asked gently. Rubio looked startled that she had noticed but, to his credit, didn’t try and deny or hide it.

 

“I noticed that when she joined our team, Major Belmont was particularly focused on something. Nothing work related but I just figured it had something to do with her alchemy research so I never asked about it,” Rubio told them. “But around the time General Mustang was promoted, she seemed so angry for a few days afterwards. I decided to give her a week and if she hadn’t calmed down, I’d ask what was wrong as it was affecting her work but she cooled down before I did. But her focus seemed to increase a hundred-fold to the point where I ended up warning her that if her side project kept getting in the way of her actual work, I would be forced to take disciplinary action against her. She seemed apologetic and I never caught her doing it again,” Rubio finished telling them.

 

“It’s possible she was working on her plans to frame Mustang. We do have a theory that his promotion caused her to snap temporarily before she decided to take action against him,” Hotch said. “Why would you remember her odd behaviour?” Hotch asked, thinking it a little unusual.

 

“My youngest child celebrated their 3rd birthday the weekend of Mustang’s promotion. I’d been so hyper-focused on her birthday and all the planning that I brought that behaviour into work for a day or two after the party so I noticed,” Rubio explained. Hotch knew that feeling. The one birthday of Jack’s that he and Hayley had planned together had resulted in Hotch being more exhausted than he had been after a case and he’d picked up so many extra details at the office, he’d been a little overwhelmed by them all.

 

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a quiet but firm knock at the door and Rubio sat up, immediately alert. Hotch went over their entire conversation quickly and realised that they had neglected to inform Rubio that Edward would be joining them later. Hotch stole a glance at the clock sitting on the wall and realised they had been talking for nearly thirty minutes.

 

“That’s likely Lieutenant-Colonel Elric. He split up from us to investigate something,” Hotch informed the tense colonel. Rubio nodded in relief before getting up from his couch and opening the door. When he came back, sure enough, Ed was following right behind him.

 

“She wasn’t there,” Ed told them immediately once he was in the living room.

 

“Excuse me?” Rubio asked and Ed barely gave him a glance as he moved to stand next to Falman.

 

“I mean, your subordinate wasn’t at her home and I didn’t see Captain Hawkeye there either. She’s being held somewhere else,” Ed told them.

 

“I hope you had a warrant, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Rubio said stiffly and Ed looked at him like he was an idiot.

 

“I didn’t need one. I didn’t enter the premise; I just used my tracking array to scan her house for signs of life. I found a cat and that was it,” Ed told him.

 

“Colonel Rubio, do you know of any place where Major Belmont could hold someone hostage with minimal fear of being found?” Hotch asked. Rubio gave Ed a questioning look but turned back to Hotch.

 

“I think she goes out to her childhood home every couple of months to check up on it. It’s in the lower part of Central, on the outskirts of the actual city,” Rubio told him. “I don’t know where it is though, but, as I said, her father was a soldier so his file may contain the address,” Rubio offered the information and Hotch nodded in thanks.

 

“Prentiss, do you need to ask anything?” Emily shook her head in answer to Hotch’s question. “Lieutenant-Colonel Elric?” Ed made a displeased face at the use of his rank but shook his head. “Thank you very much for your time, Colonel Rubio, and once again, we apologise for any inconvenience we’ve caused you and for disrupting your evening,” Hotch said as he stood and held his hand out for the colonel to shake.

 

“I hope you find Captain Hawkeye soon. She’s a good woman,” Rubio said, giving Ed a nod as he shook Prentiss’ hand and waved off Falman’s snappy and Edward’s half-hearted salutes.

 

“Thank you, Colonel,” Ed said, after a slight nudge from Falman. He did glare at the older man because he did have manners and he was going to thank the colonel anyway.

 

Rubio showed them out of the house and they got back into their waiting car. No one commented on the fact that Rubio waited until the car door had shut behind them to close the door to his home and soon enough, they were heading back to the office.

 

“We’ll need to pull Belmont’s father’s file the moment we get back,” Ed said before shaking his head as another idea occurred to him. “No, we’ll call Havoc from the office at the car park and have Brookes pull the file and ring us back with the address. Then we’ll have a driver take us to that address where I’ll get the confirmation I need and we’ll come back and head to Grumman’s office,” Ed told them.  Nobody argued with the plan so the rest of the drive was spent with Ed being filled in on what Rubio had told them. 

* * *

 

It didn’t take very long for them to reach the military car park and for the driver to escort Ed into their office area so he could borrow their phone. Hotch, Prentiss and Falman stood just inside the doorway and waited patiently.

 

“Havoc, it’s Ed,” Ed said the moment Havoc picked up.

 

 _“Hey, chief. Done with Rubio?”_ Havoc asked and Ed hummed in confirmation.

 

“Yup. Need Brookes to do me a favour. Can you ask him to head to the personnel room and grab the file for Leah Belmont’s father? He’s a deceased soldier,” Ed told him.

 

 _“We already have it, Ed. Rossi asked Brookes to grab it when we read over Belmont’s file and discovered her father was a soldier,”_ Havoc informed him and Ed let out a small ‘huh’ of surprise.

 

“Great. That saves me plenty of time than. Gimme the address on his file,” Ed asked and Havoc let out a scoff at his usual decorum but rattled of an address after a few moments. “Cheers, Havoc. We’ll be back later. We’re gonna go look at that house,” Ed explained.

 

 _“Alright, chief. Stay safe,”_ Havoc said. Ed thanked him before hanging up.

 

“Got the address. Let’s go check this place out,” Ed said as he moved from out behind the desk he’d borrowed. Without prompting, their previous driver followed them and they were soon back in the same car. 

* * *

 

For the third time in a few hours, Samantha was letting someone from the BAU and Edward’s team into the Fuhrer’s office. This time though, she barely granted the Fuhrer enough time to permit them entrance before she was opening the door and practically shoving the four of them through the doors. She could tell from the way Edward could barely contain himself that they had found where Hawkeye was being held and it took every ounce of her professionalism to back out of the office and shut the doors again, closing the five in together.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman, we got an address,” Ed told him immediately. Grumman grabbed for the search warrant and Ed rattled off the address for him to write onto it. “I saw Miss Riza there. She’s bound in the basement but I couldn’t see any serious injuries. Belmont was in the house too,” Ed added the part about Belmont as an afterthought.

 

“I trust I don’t need to tell you what your orders are, Edward,” Grumman said as he handed the two warrants over to the blonde.

 

“We’ll get her back safe. I’ll make sure of it,” Ed promised him and Grumman nodded.

 

“Go,” was all Grumman needed to say to have Ed leave the room in a flash, the three others following him behind him closely.

 

Ed gave Samantha a thumbs up as they headed past her desk, barely remembering say a goodbye and thank you to her as the four of them got into the corridor.

 

“Falman, take Hotch and Miss Emily to the car park. I’ll get the others,” Ed ordered and Falman nodded and Ed took off running for the office, leaving the three others behind him in no time.

* * *

 

Thanks to the time of night, the whole base was practically abandoned so Ed didn’t run into anyone except the odd soldier who was on night duty, guarding Central Command from anyone trying to break into it. He made it to the office in record time and burst through the door, scaring absolutely everyone in the room.

 

“We got the warrants and Miss Riza’s location,” Ed told them as soon as the door was open. “We’re heading to the military car park now. Miss Sheska, thank you for staying with us and helping us out but you’re welcome to head back home or wait in mine or Brookes’ office. If you want to head home, I’ll make sure a military car will be standing by for you,” Ed told the mousy brunette, his gratefulness written all over his face and in his voice.

 

“I think I might head home. I’ll report back for duty tomorrow morning so I can find out what happened,” Sheska said and both Ed and Brookes nodded.

 

“I’ll order a car for you,” Ed told her and she bowed her thanks. “The rest of you; we gotta go,” Ed told them and they didn’t wait another moment. They all took off for the car park, ready to wrap this entire case up, save Hawkeye and free Mustang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to know what all your thoughts are on this chapter and story so far! Please leave kudos and comments :)


	22. Chapter 22

They ended up taking three cars to arrive where Ed told them Hawkeye was being held. Ed had done as he’d promised and asked one of the soldiers to drive Sheska home when she came down but Brookes had ordered the soldier to give Sheska the address they would be at and to ask her to call the rest of his team and have them head to the property in preparation to take control of the crime scene and search any building for evidence. Ed had looked a little surprised, mainly because he hadn’t thought of that. The soldier had promised to do as he was asked and Brookes wrote the address onto a slip of paper the soldier had handed him so he could give it to Sheska.

 

The house they were in front of was dilapidated but not to a point where one would not risk going inside. When Ed had checked for Hawkeye earlier, he’d also checked the buildings foundation and was pleased to find the damage to the outside was mainly cosmetic. It seemed likely that Belmont had chosen not to repair the outside so vandals wouldn’t be tempted to enter the home. If done up, the house would be grand indeed. It stood two stories high with the basement buried in the earth, though there was a staircase that led to a set of doors so they could get Hawkeye out that way if need be.

 

The drivers of their cars were ordered to drive past the house once they had left them and keep driving until they were out of sight of the house and to return if they saw an explosion or Ed’s signal. It was a credit to their training that none of them looked like they weren’t sure whether Ed was joking about the explosion or not. Before they had left, Ed tossed his signature red jacket in one of the cars, knowing it wouldn’t help with this kind of stealth mission and watched the cars leave until Ed could no longer see their taillights. Once they were gone, Ed turned back to the building. The moonlight shone on the old house and caused Belmont’s car to shine dully.

 

The others were waiting for Ed’s signal on what to do but he needed to get fresh data before he could give them any orders so he clapped his hands together, wincing as the familiar sound echoed loudly, then stretched his arms out in front of him and let his tracking array do its job. The energy ran forward and Ed heard Brookes’ gasp when he saw his glowing electric-blue eyes but he paid the man no mind right now.

 

His energy showed him the car first and he pushed it further, directing it towards the house and watching carefully as it crossed through the nearest walls. The basement came into view at the same time and soon he had his energy reaching beyond the back of the house until he saw the busted fencing behind the home. The first floor held no life signatures in any of the rooms while the second floor and basement held one each. As expected, Hawkeye was in the same place she had been when Ed first used this array on this house. She was bound to a chair and though he couldn’t see her physical body, only her life energy in the shape of a human, he couldn’t see any signs of serious injuries still. She was bruised and had cuts and scrapes and she likely had a broken arm but that was the worst of it.

 

The top floor held Leah Belmont, showing her to be in a bedroom and studying something, and Ed was saddened by her life energy. Where Hawkeye’s was filled with life, love and kindness, Belmont’s was twisted with hate, jealousy and desperation to prove herself. It was an ugly colour but Ed had seen worse in the form of Haggar and Zarkon. He shuddered slightly at the thought of the witch and cut the array off. He’d only held the array for all of a minute but he was glad he wasn’t in America considering this was now the third time tonight he’d used this array. In America, his energy would be near depleted but in Amestris he barely made a dent.

 

“Belmont is on the top floor, in one of the bedrooms while Miss Riza is still bound to a chair in the basement,” Ed told them in a hushed whisper, well aware of how far a voice can carry when there weren’t as many buildings around. “The BAU will be taking the perimeter as discussed,” Ed did look a little apologetically towards them about it. “There’s three points of entry into the house, not including windows. The front door, the back door and the basement doors,” Ed told them.

 

“Prentiss, Morgan, take the back of the house. Keep each other in sight but put some distance between yourselves. We’re going to circle the house but I want everyone within sight of at least one other team member,” Hotch ordered. “JJ, Reid, you’ll stay here at the front of the house. Again, keep each other in sight but have some distance between you. Rossi and I will fill the gaps left,” Hotch told them and everyone nodded in agreement but no one moved just yet. They needed to know the others play so they wouldn’t be surprised by them.

 

“We will enter through the front door. I’ll take point since I know where the door to the basement is,” Ed told them. “Our first priority is to get Miss Riza out of there so when we get to the basement, I’ll go for her bindings. Havoc, she’s injured so you and Fuery are going to help her out of the basement via the set of doors that lead to the backyard. Fuery, you’ll stand guard while Havoc checks her injuries. If we’re lucky, nothing will happen to draw Belmont’s attention to what we’re doing so Brookes, myself, Breda and Falman will go upstairs where Brookes will arrest her and this will be all over before long,” Ed told them and Havoc wasn’t the only one who couldn’t stop a snort of disbelief in time.

 

“Chief, trouble follows you around like a love-struck puppy,” Havoc told him and Ed did the mature thing and stuck his tongue out since he couldn’t exactly refute what Havoc said. The others chuckled at him and he glared at them all.

 

“The BAU will get into positions first. Once we get the signal to say they’re all-set, we’ll move in,” Ed said. The BAU took the hint and started heading for their assigned positions. While they did that, Ed pulled off his normal gloves and pulled on the pair of Mustang’s he had stuffed in his pocket. He couldn’t describe the feeling he felt as he pulled them on but he likened it to being given permission by his mother to read his father’s journals after spending his whole life being told he couldn’t touch them.

 

“Gonna take some time to get used to seeing you with those on, chief,” Havoc commented, nodding to the gloves and Ed grinned.

 

“I won’t be using them all the time. I think I’ll prefer stabbing or punching something rather than setting it on fire. Although,” Ed’s grin grew mischievous, “these _would_ come in handy for blowing up a building,” Ed said and Havoc chuckled, as did the other members of his team. Ed saw Reid and JJ give them the okay. “It’s go-time,” Ed said and the five men standing with him grew completely serious. All four drew their weapons while Ed resisted the instinctive urge to form his blade. He didn’t need it right now, may not need it at all tonight, and he wanted to avoid the lecture of ruining the glove.

 

Quietly, they moved as a group, covering each other’s backs. Ed kept his eyes and ears wide open for any sign that Belmont was moving inside. He checked their path for any hidden arrays and tested the door once they reached it. Ed could feel JJ and Reid’s weapons aimed towards them but had complete trust that if they had to fire, the bullets would miss him and his group. A gentle twist of the knob proved it was locked and Ed spent a couple of minutes checking for any alchemic traps or warnings on the door. When he couldn’t find any on this side, he decided to risk it and lightly swiped a finger over the lock, sending blue alchemic energy dancing over it and through the keyhole. It clicked and Ed swung the door open carefully.

 

They moved into the house like shadows. Every single person knew they couldn’t afford the tiniest of mistakes here. Ed heard the floorboards move above them and they came to a halt at his signal. He listened carefully but heard the sound of bed springs being compressed and knew Belmont had likely taken a seat once more on the bed. Ed signaled for them to start moving once again as he led them to the door next to the kitchen that would lead them to the basement.

 

Again, Ed paused in front of the door to check it for anything that would tip Belmont off to their presence but found nothing on his side of it. A test of the doorknob proved Ed’s suspicions that it was locked and he repeated the transmutation he’d done earlier. A soft click didn’t result in any explosions or anything so Ed opened the door. The basement was dark but Ed found the light switch quickly enough. The elderly light-bulb was a dull yellow and flickered annoyingly but at least none of the would trip on the stairs and break their necks. Signaling to Havoc – who was bringing up the rear – to shut the door behind him, Ed headed down the stairs quietly and soon spotted Hawkeye.

 

Hawkeye was bound to a normal kitchen chair and sitting almost exactly in the centre of the basement. Ed had to stop himself from racing towards her on sight but he took in every detail he could. She was bound with ropes tied around the back of her chair, securing her upper arms and her waist. Her hands were forced behind her back in a way that made Ed twinge in sympathy for how her broken arm must feel in that position. Her thighs were bound by rope to the seat of her chair and each ankle was tied to a leg. She was gagged with a piece of cloth ripped from her jacket. Her hair was a mess and Ed see bruises blossoming on her jaw, cheeks and around her right eye. Her military jacket had been removed, leaving her in her dress shirt and uniform pants but her boots and socks were gone and Ed thought he spied bruises on her feet. However, her facial expression merely read _you took your time_.

 

Ed hurried over as quick as he dared, glancing at the others and seeing them all in the room now and the door shut behind them. He reached Hawkeye’s sides and placed his hands on sections of the rope, using his alchemy to slice through the binds as quickly as possible. Ed left her arms for last – though he did remove the gag – and beckoned Havoc over with a look. The blonde smoker knelt next to him and looked at him questioningly.

 

“I think her left arm is broken or fractured. If she’s been bound like this the entire time, she’s gonna be hurting something fierce. I know from personal experience,” Ed whispered so quietly he could barely be heard. Havoc nodded his understanding and grasped Hawkeye’s arm lightly to stop it from dropping immediately when Ed cut the rope. After a nod from the older man, Ed placed his hand on the rope and cut it. Hawkeye let out a small moan as her arm shifted slightly despite Havoc’s best efforts. “Sorry,” Ed immediately apologised as Havoc eased her arm so she could cradle it against her torso.

 

“How’s Alphonse?” Hawkeye asked immediately now that she was no longer bound. Fuery, Breda and Brookes stood guard around them but all three looked at her to give her happy and relieved smiles.

 

“He’s fine. Got some stitches in his head and the doc is holding him until they come out but he’s fine,” Ed assured her before turning to Havoc. “Think we can risk the time to splint her arm? Might make things easier,” Ed said and Havoc looked around and eyed the chair up.

 

“Think you can remove these supports out of the back without alerting everyone and their dog to us being here?” Havoc asked. Ed gave him a flat look as he touched the bits of wood Havoc had indicated and the top and the bottom and detached them with alchemy, handing them to the blonde. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Havoc muttered as he laid one of the bits of wood on Hawkeye’s thigh and gently moved her arm to lay on it. He positioned the other piece to lay on the opposite side of her arm. “Ed, grab those ropes for me and start tying the wood together,” Havoc instructed and Ed did as he was told with no fussing. He could tell Hawkeye had already spotted his gloves, likely had spotted them the moment he was in view but decided to focus on his task first.

 

“Thank you, Havoc, Edward,” Hawkeye said once they were done. “Edward, are you wearing General Mustang’s gloves?” She asked and Ed resisted the urge to hide his hands behind his back so she couldn’t see them.

 

“Yes,” he answered honestly.

 

“Why?” She asked simply and Ed almost asked if they could have this conversation when there was a minimal risk of a crazy, flame alchemy-obsessed woman coming down the stairs but stopped himself when he realised something.

 

“When I told Mustang what happened to you and Al, he said some things. They were pretty harsh,” Ed told her and Havoc snorted in disagreement.

 

“Sorry, chief, but what he said was down-right cruel,” Havoc told him and Ed shrugged. Hawkeye’s narrowed eyes told Havoc that there would be an in-depth discussion about this in the near future.

 

“It doesn’t matter,” Ed told her, making sure his voice stayed low. “He decided that he should apologise to me – which was shocking enough, let me tell you – but he also decided that to show me how genuinely apologetic he was, he offered to teach me fire alchemy,” Ed fidgeted with the edge of his jacket subconsciously as he kept eye contact with Hawkeye. “He told me everything about what happened with your dad and what you asked Mustang to do and why you asked him to do it,” Ed admitted and Hawkeye was surprised that Mustang had revealed that much. “Miss Riza, Mustang said that you would approve of me learning fire alchemy but I swear that if you don’t, I’ll take the gloves off right now and give them back to you,” Ed told her and Hawkeye could tell he was completely serious. Ed would give up learning anything more about fire alchemy, no matter how much Mustang tried to teach him, if she said no.

 

A hundred examples of Ed’s recklessness flashed through her mind at once. Any one of those moments would be justification for her telling Ed that she didn’t want him learning flame alchemy. She would admit that part of her wanted to say no as a way to punish Mustang for doing this without her consent. She had never wanted another flame alchemist in this world. Not in her lifetime and now Mustang had decided to teach Ed, the human embodiment of rash decisions and dangerous plans. But, as Hawkeye thought about it, she could see the uncertainty on his face and knew that her silence was making him start thinking she didn’t have enough faith in him to trust him with her father’s work. Besides, Ed wasn’t just reckless and brash; he was also kind, loyal, compassionate and a genius. She knew that he was well aware of every pro and con behind flame alchemy and she knew that he would always have the weight of Mustang and her own expectations on him every time he went to use it and she realised something.

 

“I trust you with my father’s life’s work, Ed,” she said completely truthfully and couldn’t stop herself from wrapping her good arm around Ed’s shoulders and dragging him into a hug. The movement did jolt her bad arm but she held back the wince as she felt Ed’s arms wrap around her in return. The hug was hesitant at first but he quickly tightened his grip, though not too much in case she’d damaged her torso.

 

“Thanks, Miss Riza,” Ed said before pulling away. “Come on, our lucks held this much and we still have to get you out of here before dealing with Belmont,” Ed told her as Havoc took this as his cue to move to Hawkeye’s good side and support her weight.

 

“I mean it, Edward. I think if I had to choose anyone to learn my father’s art, it would’ve been you,” Hawkeye told him as Fuery made his way over to the trio.

 

“That means a lot, Miss Riza. Thank you,” Ed flushed a little before pulling himself together and focusing on the situation at hand again. “Back stairs are this way,” Ed said, leading them over to their way out.

 

Fuery ascended the stairs first and pushed on the doors only to look back at Ed with slight panic. “They’re chained on the outside, Ed,” he told him and Ed swore softly. He didn’t even notice the chains in his scan of the building. He thought through his options and realised they were severely limited to only one option he could see and he cursed again.

 

“I’m gonna have to deconstruct the entire set of doors. I can’t demolish the chain without being able to touch it,” Ed told them. “The moment I say so, you three need to get out of here,” Ed gestured to Fuery, Havoc and Hawkeye before climbing the stairs and placing his hands on each door and concentrated.

 

Blue energy crackled over the doors and Ed activated the array. The doors shattered as they were supposed to but Ed winced when the chains hit the ground with a loud rattle. Ed glanced up in time to see Belmont looking out the window in shock. He flipped her off before turning his attention back to his teammates as he heard the thundering footsteps racing through the house. “Let’s go!” Ed shouted, given exactly zero fucks about their cover now they didn’t have one. “Miss Riza, let Havoc carry you so you don’t hurt your feet any further,” Ed said and Hawkeye looked very unimpressed at the order.

 

“You tell anyone you carried me and I’ll shoot you in the kneecap,” Hawkeye informed Havoc, who nodded immediately before scooping her up as carefully as possible and rushing up the stairs, Fuery following close behind. Ed heard Belmont running across the ground floor, heading for the basement door and Ed raced down the stairs, jumped the last five and slammed his hands on the ground to form a wall in front of Brookes, Breda and Falman just as the basement door flew open, slamming as it hit the wall, and Belmont fired a couple of shots. Both rounds hit the stone wall and Ed allowed himself a sigh of relief before he heard a scratching noise of the other side of the wall and knew Leah was carving an array.

 

“Get out of here!” Ed yelled at them as he got ready to cover their escape. The men hesitated for a moment but followed his order when Ed’s wall exploded. They disappeared up the stairs and through the destroyed doors while Ed kept Belmont occupied with a stone fist he sent her way the moment the majority of the debris was out of the way.

 

Belmont dodged the fist and was completely down the stairs before Ed could retaliate anymore. For the moment, Ed simply chose to put distance between himself and her while also blocking the way the others went. Her lips were curled in a feral snarl and her eyes glinted dangerously with pure anger. Ed had often been told that if he could kill someone with his glare, he’d have killed dozens but with the way Belmont looked like she was trying to skin him with just her gaze, he truly wondered if such a feat would be possible.

 

“You’ve ruined everything!” Belmont screeched so loudly that Ed jerked backwards. “I will make you _bleed_ for this!” She swore, eyes glinting madly and Ed could see what his brother meant about her mental stability.

 

“Stop being an idiot, Belmont. You’ve lost. We have the evidence we need to get Mustang out of prison and send you in his place and you’ll never lay another finger on Captain Hawkeye while I live,” Ed snapped at her.

 

“Then I’ll just have to kill you, won’t I?” Belmont snarled and launched herself forward, armed with her daggers. Ed hadn’t even seen where her gun went but he didn’t waste time thinking about it. He formed his blade, offering a mental apology to Mustang as it sliced through and destroyed the glove, and blocked Belmont’s first blow.

 

Belmont had the clear advantage in this fight as she was armed with two blades while Ed only had the one and he couldn’t be as versatile with it as Belmont was with hers. While she could flip her dagger from a stabbing to slashing motion with a twist of her wrist, Ed wasn’t afforded the same privilege. By the time Ed managed to disarm her of one of the daggers and send it flying into a dark corner of the basement, he’d suffered several small cuts. Belmont tried a vicious stabbing move in retaliation but Ed was able to block it and now they were fair more evenly matched.

 

She managed to land a good cut to his upper flesh arm but instead of stabbing through the flesh like she’d aimed to do, Ed moved just enough for it to simply cut a nasty gash on the side of it. Leah’s balance had been thrown momentarily when she didn’t stop moving forward like she’d expected and if she’d been facing any other opponent, it wouldn’t have been a problem but she was facing an Elric and this one was used to more painful injuries to let a measly cut stop him. He twisted as she moved to correct her balance, grabbed her wrist with his automail hand and twisted her wrist enough to make her yelp in pain and drop the knife. Ed immediately kicked it away from her and pushed her back in the same motion.

 

Leah was sent stumbling but recovered quickly. Growling, she launched herself at Edward and started fighting with her bare hands. For the first couple of minutes she had Ed on the defensive, partly because Ed hadn’t expected her to fight back without a weapon and partly because Ed was trying hard not to accidentally stab her in the face with his automail blade since they wanted her brought in alive. He finally got a moment to retract the blade with a burst of blue energy when he sent her stumbling back once more and this time, he was the one to launch the attack.

 

He pressed her, forcing her to lose ground as he stole it from her. He’d known from Al that Belmont allowed her emotions to rule her when she fought someone and right now, she was exceptionally angry. Despite all of his training and despite her lack of it, Ed was hard-pressed trying to predict and avoid her moves because she wasn’t following any sort of pattern. Ed used his alchemy as much as possible, utilising the fact that the basement floors and walls were stone – a material suited more to him than Belmont – but it didn’t mean she couldn’t use her arrays at all. There was wood in the basement in the form of the ceiling and stairs and she certainly wasn’t worried about the house’s integrity as she transmuted the material.

 

Ed would admit she was very good with transmuting the timber. If it wasn’t for the blue flashes of alchemy, Ed would almost believe that she simply willing the material to form what she wanted with her mind. Ed created three small, stone throwing knives and sent them hurtling for her and she manipulated a stair into a shield before mimicking his move with double the amount of knives. He was able to deflect them with a stone wall before being forced to create a hand to try and hit her out of the air when she threw herself at him in a furious leap from the staircase. She had no way to protect herself and she was sent straight into the ground and didn’t move.

 

“Brookes! Get down here!” Ed hollered as he transmuted the stone fist back into the ground so it wouldn’t get in their way. He heard someone saying something from the top of the stairs but Ed paid them no attention since they weren’t talking to him. He took the opportunity to look at the cut Belmont managed to land on his arm and growled internally when he realised there was no way he _wasn’t_ getting stitches. Even he knew it was too deep.

 

“Ed? You alright?” Brookes asked as he descended the stairs, handcuffs in hand. He was halfway down them and Ed turned his head from his arm to look at Brookes while he answered but his attention was drawn away when Belmont lurched up and aimed her recovered gun right for Brookes, a vicious smile on her face.

 

Ed didn’t even think; he just _moved_ and the next thing he knew, there was a white-hot pain ripping through his flesh bicep and knew the bullet had torn through it. He heard the bullet splinter into a stair behind him as Brookes yelled his name. Leah looked even angrier now that he’d gotten in her way twice and moved to squeeze the trigger a second time but Ed ignored the pain of his bicep, raised his hand and _snapped_.

 

Leah shrieked as she was forced to dive out of the way of the stream of fire Ed sent towards her. Ed didn’t stay to watch her avoid the flames. He spun immediately after snapping and ran for Brookes, turning him a little harshly and pushing him back up the stairs so they wouldn’t be in the basement when Leah recovered from the attack.

 

“Ed, are you alright?” Brookes asked once they were clear of the basement and about halfway to the others.

 

Ed allowed himself a moment to try and figure out how he should answer that. He was covered in nicks and small cuts that – while not fatal nor painful per say – were stinging horrendously thanks to the sweat caused by his exertion running into them. He could feel several decent bruises, mainly on his torso, slowly forming and just knew he would be stiff and sore tomorrow. Breathing hurt far more than it should and Ed felt the familiar sharp pain which indicated broken ribs and Ed was seriously starting to wonder if he would ever come out of a fight without busted ribs.

 

Then there were his larger wounds. The gash to his arm that sat just below the gunshot wound he’d just suffered. He was also pretty sure he had a decent cut to his right calf muscle that Leah managed to land when Ed had kicked her first blade out of her hands. His head hurt but Ed couldn’t remember her landing a blow on it so it was possible he just had a massive headache forming but he reached up with his automail and felt pain bloom horribly from where his hand sat so he had managed to hit his head somewhere along the line. Probably when he’d been dodging her small, wooden boulders, he thought.

 

Ed went to answer Brookes when there was an outraged bellow from inside the house and the sound of someone sprinting through it. Ed realised that Belmont must’ve fled up what was left of the stairs to escape the flames and was now heading for the back door.

 

“Get to cover, Brookes,” Ed said as he turned to face the door Leah was heading for. Brookes looked like he wanted to argue but Leah burst out of the house at that moment, nearly spitting with rage as all of her attention narrowed right on Edward. Brookes decided the best course of action for him was to cover Ed and try to find an opening to non-fatally wound her.

 

“You know flame alchemy?! How fucking dare you?! How dare you wield a power that is rightfully mine?!” Belmont yelled demandingly and Ed actually had to pause to look at her incredulously because was she for real?

 

“Flame alchemy isn’t mine and it isn’t yours. I’ve been entrusted with its secrets because I’ve proven I _can_ be trusted with them. If you weren’t so fucking bat-shit, you might’ve been taught it too,” Ed taunted her. Her answering shriek made him wonder if she was trying to turn them all deaf or something.

 

Belmont slammed her left hand into the ground and alchemised an earthen fist that rose and went straight for Ed, who answered the attack by placing his automail hand in its path and activating Scar’s favourite transmutation the moment the earth touched his palm, causing it to disintegrate on the spot. A shot rang out from somewhere on Ed’s right but the bullet missed. Belmont, on the other hand, tried to send a slab of earth towards the shooter, only for Ed to stop it with a stone wall of his own. That action brought her attention back to him.

 

Ed knew he was limited in what he could do now. His left arm was too hurt to be of any use and he’d never been more grateful for the fact that he didn’t have to clap to transmute anymore than he was in this moment as he created small, stone daggers and hurled them at Belmont, who predictably evaded them with a roll to the side. All Ed could do now was hope he’d get a lucky shot or that one of his teammates would. Even though this fight wasn’t happening in America, Ed’s alchemic energy still drained quickly here if he wasn’t careful and he certainly didn’t want this fight to go on long enough that he drops from alchemic exhaustion.

 

Belmont retaliated by using the wooden boards that made up the outside of her childhood home to create her own projectiles and Ed made a wave of earth that curved up in front of him and span the length of the entire house to swallow the wooden weapons and sink immediately back into the earth. He then called on the stone within the earth once more to create pillars in an effort to block Leah from being able to escape only to watch her climb them, alchemise a blade half the length of her forearm out of the wooden wall behind her and launch herself off her platform and come at him.

 

Ed was quick to call up the iron from the ground to fashion his own bladed weapon in time to meet Belmont’s and block it from slashing into his throat. Despite his best efforts though, he hadn’t been managed to block it completely and he felt something warm and wet trickle down his throat and soak into his black shirt and knew he’d been cut. The position of the cut didn’t feel like it was near his jugular or carotid artery so he didn’t think he was in danger of bleeding out for the moment.

 

Belmont growled in frustration when her knife was stopped before it could properly pierce his throat and Ed used the opportunity to get a slash of his own in and cut open her cheek. It was a deep wound and would certainly scar and was obviously painful if the way Belmont howled was any indication. Ed didn’t give her the chance to recover. He kept up his attack, nicking her a few times but she was very good with a knife and Ed gained a few new cuts of his own. Despite the material her weapon was made out of, it wasn’t overly damaged by the blade Ed had created and Ed would grudgingly admit he was impressed. He’d be more impressed if the wooden blade’s creator wasn’t trying to kill him and the others though. 

* * *

 

Havoc had set Hawkeye down a good distance from the entrance to the basement before pulling his weapon and training it on the opening, ready in case Belmont managed to somehow overpower Ed or slip past his defenses to try and get to Hawkeye. Fuery was standing on Hawkeye’s other side so he wouldn’t block her view so she knew what was going on.

 

The agents had moved from their positions so the six of them now surrounded the back of the house, making sure they weren’t in the way of Havoc, Hawkeye or Fuery. Breda, Falman and Brookes stood positioned in between them all, providing extra cover. Both Rossi and Morgan were closest to the house so they could get around to the front quickly, if needed.

 

Flashes of blue lit up the basement and poured light out of the gaping entrance momentarily as the two fighting inside used their alchemy. It took all their self-control and rational thought to keep themselves from going into the basement, knowing they would only be a hindrance to Ed, rather than a help when they heard pained noises. They finally saw a flash of blue, heard something that could only have been a body hitting the ground and the call for Brookes to get down there. The sound of Ed’s voice had everyone relaxing slightly.

 

But then there was a gunshot and Brookes’ yell of Ed’s name. Before anyone outside the basement could react in any way, they heard a familiar snap and a shriek of fear as the basement glowed orange before they finally saw Brookes being shoved out of the basement by Edward and the sense of relief from everyone at the sight of the blonde was evident in the air, even if his clothing was nearly more torn than it was whole and sticking to him in some places, glistening wetly as the moonlight reflected off the blood.

 

Rossi and Morgan had headed for the front of the house in case Belmont tried to escape via the front door while Brookes questioned if Ed was alright. The blonde hadn’t answered immediately but Mustang’s team knew that that was because he was mentally cataloguing his injuries so he would know how to answer. Before he could answer though, there was an angered shout from inside the house and Ed pushed Brookes towards everyone, telling him to get back before turning to face the threat. Brookes hadn’t moved right away but he got out of the way when the back door slammed open.

 

Then Leah and Ed exchanged words before Leah created an earthen fist that Ed deconstructed the moment it touched his palm. A shot rang out but missed Belmont, who responded by sending a slab of earth towards JJ, Hotch and Havoc. Ed countered by raising a stone wall in front of them and stopping her attack. When her attention was back on him, he threw some daggers at her and she dodged before creating wooden weapons of her own and sending them at him. The agents watched on in awe as Ed created an earthen wave that rose up, caught Leah’s attack and sank back down in the space of a few seconds.

 

Before Leah could try and use another attack, Ed sent stone pillars her way and the agents watched as it looked like Ed might’ve gained the upper hand only to watch Leah use one of the pillars as a platform and alchemise a dagger out of her house’s wall and launch herself at Ed. They were a little surprised to see Ed alchemise a dagger from the metal in the ground rather than his automail before realising he wouldn’t have been able to. With the wounds he’d gotten on that arm, he wouldn’t be able to raise it enough to alchemise his automail plus, they noted, having a blade that wasn’t attached to him seemed to work far better for him.

 

Despite how quickly he was able to transmute the blade into existence and raise it to block Belmont’s attack, he wasn’t quick enough to block it completely and they watched in horror at her blade made a cut on Ed’s neck. The blonde barely grimaced as he pushed Leah back enough to slice open her cheek in retaliation. Hawkeye’s eyes narrowed on the sight of the blood that leaked from his neck wound and felt her protective instincts flare up.

 

“Fuery, give me your pistol,” Hawkeye ordered. To his credit, Fuery didn’t question or resist the order, just handed her his weapon and took a couple of steps back so he was out of her way and better protected now that he was weaponless.

 

Hawkeye shifted into a slightly better position before raising her borrowed gun and taking careful aim, waiting for Ed to give her the opening she needed. She knew it had to be a non-fatal wound so she kept her gun trained below Belmont’s waist so that if Belmont twisted in the last moment, the bullet would be less likely to hit something vital. 

* * *

 

Every move Ed made was causing his various wounds to become more painful but his upper left arm and shoulder were absolute agony and Ed came to the very quick decision that he didn’t like being shot. Belmont could sense he was struggling a little and tried to use that to her advantage but Ed refused to give her any chance to turn the tide in this fight. Ed spotted Hawkeye on the ground with Havoc and Fuery standing guard though Fuery no longer had his weapon drawn. Ed used his automail elbow and drove it into Belmont’s rib cage, pushing her off him and hearing the satisfying crack of at least two ribs breaking though she managed to give him a good cut on his gut before she went stumbling. A look over at Fuery again while Belmont recovered showed that while he wasn’t holding his weapon, Hawkeye was. Ed almost loosed a sigh of relief at the sight so now all he needed to do was just give Hawkeye the opening she needed.

 

Ed got his chance only moments later when Belmont decided to charge him. Ed would’ve tried to figure out the reasoning behind the move but he seriously didn’t think there was anything other than just fury and desperation behind it. In one fluid movement, Ed sidestepped the charging woman and her dagger and used his automail arm to push the shoulder closest to him and send her veering massively off course and end up facing Hawkeye. A shot rang out and Belmont howled in agony as the bullet tore through her mid-thigh, missing the bone but causing plenty of damage, nonetheless.

 

Ed had expected Leah to go down immediately but her leg barely buckled and Ed realised the adrenaline coursing through her veins must have been potent enough to allow her to ignore the bullet wound. Before she could turn around, Ed was behind her in a flash and kicked the wounded leg out from underneath her, sending her crashing to the earth with an inhuman screech. Ed took a few steps to the side and slammed his automail hand into the ground. Two twin flashes of alchemic energy surrounded Leah’s hands and soon her wrists were encased in stone cuffs, bolted securely in the ground.

 

Belmont tried to struggle against her bonds and get away from Ed as he crawled closer to her. She hurled insults and threats, becoming increasingly hysterical and demented in her screams but Ed paid her no mind. Instead, he touched the cuffs with her arrays on them, starting with her left, and severing them from her wrists. “Brookes?” Ed called and the lieutenant-colonel was by his side immediately. “I’ll release her wrists one at a time. You ready?” Ed asked and Brookes pulled out a set of restraints made for alchemists.

 

“Ready,” Brookes confirmed and Ed transmuted to stone from her left wrist first. Brookes grabbed her wrist tightly and didn’t let go, no matter how much Belmont struggled against him. He gave Ed a nod to show he was ready for Ed to release her other wrist.

 

“Here we go,” Ed warned him then touched the stone with his fingers and watched as the blue alchemic energy crackled along the stone before the stone seemed to melt away.

 

“Major Leah Belmont, you are under arrest for the suspicion of the murder of Frank Chambers, the kidnapping and assault of Captain Riza Hawkeye, the assault of a civilian, Alphonse Elric and resisting arrest. At this time, you will be temporarily stripped of your rank; however, if you are found innocent of all charges your rank will be reinstated without penalty. You have the right to your own attorney if you wish, but if you cannot afford one the military will appoint you one. You have the right to remain silent as anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. Do you understand your rights as I’ve explained them to you?” Brookes recited as he pulled Leah’s left wrist in front of her while Ed did the same with her right one and Brookes placed them both in the board before locking it shut, all completely one handed. Ed was a little impressed.

 

“Let me go! I didn’t do anything wrong! That bastard deserves to be locked away for stealing from me! That bitch of a captain deserved worse than what she got,” Belmont snarled as she put all of her effort into trying to wrench herself free of Brookes’ iron grip on her upper arm. Ed was two seconds away from repeating what he did to Moore but a hand grabbed his automail arm and he was pulled away from them both before he could go through with it.

 

“Edward, are you alright?” JJ asked as she pulled him away from Leah and Brookes and started fussing over him. “Oh my god, Ed, how are you still standing?” JJ asked in horror as she assessed his injuries.

 

“Miss JJ, this isn’t the worst I’ve been through,” Ed told her. “It takes a lot more effort to take an Elric out than what she tried,” Ed told her with a tired attempt at a cocky grin.

 

“Damn, chief, you don’t do things by halves, do you?” Havoc whistled, casting an impressed eye over his injuries as he helped Hawkeye hobble over carefully. Ed could see that someone tore up one of their jackets and used the scraps of cloth to cushion her injured feet so she wouldn’t be putting too much pressure on them. Havoc’s jacket was gone so Ed assumed it was the one used though the impromptu wrappings didn’t stop Hawkeye from needing both Havoc and Fuery to help her.

 

“Edward,” Hawkeye didn’t say anything more than his name but Ed had personally never seen Hawkeye so shocked and concerned about his health before. Granted, Ed mused, he wasn’t sure Hawkeye had ever seen him before the doctors managed to patch him up.

 

“I’m fine, Miss Riza. Seriously,” Ed told the disbelieving agents. Hotch and Rossi were helping Brookes haul Belmont to her feet but Ed could see the three men glancing over with worried looks at him while keeping firm grips on the struggling Belmont.

 

“I’ll be the judge of that, chief,” Havoc told him, beckoning Morgan over to take some of Hawkeye’s weight so Havoc could do a proper examination, “and from what I can already see, you and your brother will be sharing hospital rooms,” he grinned at Ed’s groan of despair.

 

“Doc Evans is gonna end up wrapping me in bubble wrap or ordering Mustang to keep my chained to a desk. Please don’t do that to me, Havoc!” Ed pleased, only half serious. Havoc laughed at him before using his flashlight to look Ed over.

 

“I really need to use something to clean you up with before I can say anything for certain but you probably won’t die before we get the cars back,” Havoc told him and Ed flattened him with a flat stare.

 

“Cheers, Havoc,” Ed drawled before shaking his head. “Someone’s going to have to go find the cars. I can’t signal them since I can’t lift one arm and I kinda destroyed the other glove so the original plan is out,” Ed told him. Havoc gave him an exasperated look that Ed responded to with a sheepish smile that had Havoc rolling his eyes in return.

 

“I think Falman gave them an idea of where to wait,” Havoc said. “I’ll ask him and one of the agents to go and get the cars.”

 

“That’d be great. Thanks, Havoc,” Ed said gratefully but Havoc shook his head at the blonde in a fond way. He headed over to Falman, grabbing Reid on his way, before sending them off to get the cars. Ed turned to the three men trying to keep Belmont from escaping arrest. “How about we move to the front of the house with her? That why we can get her in the car and as soon as possible,” Ed suggested. Part of the reason he wanted to go out the front is so he can sit back down somewhere but he would admit that maybe on the pain of death.

 

“That’s a good idea, Ed,” Hotch said but Ed had the annoying feeling that Hotch knew why he was truly suggesting they relocate.

 

Hotch and Brookes grabbed one of Leah’s arms each and picked her up from her crumpled position, forcing her to walk under her own steam – as much as she could with a busted leg – or be dragged along. She’d quietened down shortly after Ed had been pulled away from them but she soon started up once more when they hauled her to her feet. Whatever she was trying to yell came out unintelligible thanks to her strangled sobbing but Ed could guess what she was trying to say and none of would be particularly flattering to him or the others.

 

He barely put up a struggle when Breda came out of nowhere and pulled Ed’s automail arm over his shoulder and helped him follow everyone else out to the front of the house. Breda kept a hold of Ed, not voicing his worry as the blonde seemed to grow weaker by the minute, leaning more and more of his weight onto the redhead. Soon enough, there was a set of headlights glaring at them and a car pulled up in front of the house. However, Falman and Reid weren’t the ones to climb out of it nor were there two more cars following close behind.

 

“Good timing,” Brookes said as his team approached him for their orders. “Head into the house and start searching for evidence. We suspect her of murdering Frank Chambers and framing General Mustang. Take photos of everything you find but be careful of traps. You guys know the drill but make sure you do absolutely everything by the book,” Brookes told them before looking at Ed. “Do you have the search warrant, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric?” He asked and Ed nodded.

 

“They’re in my red jacket. When the cars are here, I’ll get them for you,” he told him. Brookes nodded and settled in to wait but they didn’t have to wait long. A minute later, three cars pulled up along the side of the road, opposite the house. Falman and Reid climbed out of the middle car, Falman with Ed’s red coat.

 

“Falman, can you give Brookes the warrants? They’re in one of the pockets,” Ed told him. Falman didn’t do anything except nod and rifle through the jacket.

 

“Thanks, Lieutenant Falman,” Brookes said when Falman handed him the warrants. Falman gave him a nod before heading towards Ed and Breda. “Here’s the warrant. I’ll be accompanying the accused to the hospital with everyone else but I’ll come back once I’ve arranged guards to keep an eye on her,” Brookes handed the paper over to the woman on his team before gesturing them to get started.

 

There was a flash of alchemy that startled everyone and made them all look over at Ed, Falman and Breda. Falman now held what used to be Ed’s jacket but the blonde had reduced half of it to makeshift bandages. Havoc joined them immediately and Breda helped the blonde keep his balance as they removed his black jacket and exposed his injuries. Nearly everyone winced at the amount of blood coating Ed.

 

“I can already tell you that you’ll be getting stitches for at least half of these injuries,” Havoc told him as he started bandaging him up as best he could.

 

“Of course I will be,” Ed whined before hissing as Havoc tugged a little more painfully than he expected to secure the bandage in place.

 

“Sorry, chief,” Havoc winced in sympathy.

 

“Do you guys get hazard pay for this kind of thing?” Morgan asked as he watched Havoc patch Ed up as best he could. “Because I think you should, with how much trouble Ed gets himself into. Especially you guys if you’re providing back-up,” Morgan said with a nod to Mustang’s team.

 

“Morgan and I will go with Brookes and Belmont in one of the cars to the hospital,” Hotch announced before giving Ed a look. “You and Captain Hawkeye should get to the hospital as soon as you’re finished getting patched up,” he told him.

 

“Don’t worry, Agent Hotchner. He’ll be going to the hospital just as soon as Lieutenant Havoc is done,” Hawkeye told him. Her tone made it very clear that Ed was not allowed to argue with her so he didn’t even bother with a token protest. He did pout though, which caused Havoc to ruffle his hair gently.

 

Morgan and Rossi switched so that Rossi was now helping Hawkeye while Morgan was helping Hotch and Brookes drag the still-sobbing Belmont towards the first car on the other side of the road. Ed tuned her screeches of protest out as he tugged up his tank-top so Havoc could bandage the cut on the right side of his abdomen, just below his ribs. He heard Havoc mutter something but his exhaustion was catching up on him and he couldn’t make out the words.

 

“Lift your head up, chief. I need to look at your neck,” Havoc instructed and Ed did as he was told. The movement caused the wound to start bleeding sluggishly but Havoc was quick to wrap it up with the last couple of scraps of material. The feel of the bandage made Ed flashback momentarily to Haggar but Havoc loosened it a little with a quick mutter of not wanting it to be too tight on him so it turned from slightly suffocating to an annoyance. “All done,” Havoc announced and Ed sighed.

 

“Thanks, Havoc,” Ed said, giving the older man a quick smile.

 

“Anytime, chief. Let’s get you and the captain to the hospital before you fall asleep on your feet,” Havoc teased lightly, though his eyes gave away his worry.

 

“No chance I can bribe you all into not telling Al?” Ed asked, only half-jokingly. His brother was either going to tear him a new one for being so reckless or smother him with his mother-henning ways.

 

“And miss the rant that’ll follow? Not a chance,” Havoc told him and Ed’s resigned sigh had most of them chuckling.

 

Breda had taken up his self-assigned task of being Ed’s crutch and helped him limp towards the car Brookes’ team had arrived in. Hawkeye was helped by Rossi in first before sitting opposite her on the other seat. Ed slid in next to Hawkeye before Breda and Havoc both followed, sitting next to Rossi. JJ sat on Ed’s other side, leaving Reid, Prentiss, Falman and Fuery to head over to one of the other cars but not before Ed asked Falman to let the last driver know to stay there, just in case Brookes’ team needed a car.

 

“Are you okay, Miss Riza?” Ed asked when Hawkeye gave a small twitch of pain when she shifted her splinted arm closer to her body to lessen the impact the car’s movements had on it.

 

“I’ll be fine, Edward,” Hawkeye as she used her unbroken hand to push Ed’s gold bangs out of his eyes and looked at a cut he had on his temple. Ed didn’t stop his reaction of leaning slightly into her touch and Hawkeye didn’t pull her hand away immediately. She pushed his hair back once more before retracting her hand.

 

“I almost hope Doc Evans isn’t scheduled to work tonight,” Ed groaned, causing Havoc and Breda to laugh at him.

 

“Yeah, right, chief. You always seem to get hurt on his shifts,” Havoc told him, causing Ed to groan again because he really couldn’t argue against that.

 

“That’s the name of General Armstrong’s doctor, right?” Rossi asked and Ed nodded. “Why don’t you want him?” He enquired.

 

“Because Doctor Evans has an uncanny ability to stop Edward from escaping the hospital _before_ he’s given the all clear to do so,” Hawkeye told him before Ed could say anything.

 

“Hospitals are boring and I’m almost always never hurt enough that I need to stay in there instead of researching,” Ed whined but Hawkeye’s flat look didn’t change.

 

“You won’t be leaving this time until you’re discharged either,” JJ piped up, using her mum voice to show him how serious she was.

 

“I doubt I’ll even be admitted. I just need stitches,” Ed told her and JJ looked disbelievingly at him.

 

“Ed, you got shot,” she reminded him. “I doubt they’ll just let you walk out of the hospital.”

 

“It’s just a flesh wound,” Ed said dismissively. “The only real reason they could admit me is because I hit my head but I don’t have a concussion so I really doubt they will. They know I know how to deal with one anyway,” Ed told her.

 

“You know that now that you’ve said that, you’re gonna end up getting admitted for at least the day, right?” Havoc asked, smirking at him.

 

“Yeah, that would happen, knowing my luck,” Ed muttered as he leant back into the car seat. JJ gripped his hand and squeezed it in what Ed thought was supposed to a kindly gesture but the look on her face was pure concern so Ed squeezed her hand back, even though the movement made all of his wounds on that arm flare up in pain. At least the nurses would be nice enough at the hospital and give him painkillers before they even went to get the doctor. 

* * *

 

“Edward Elric, what have you done to yourself now?” Nurse Emma asked the moment Breda half-helped, half-dragged Ed through the doors of the hospital, followed by Rossi and Havoc helping Hawkeye and JJ hovering in between them.

 

“I may have been shot. And stabbed. At least twice,” Ed told her, with a half smirk. Emma did not look impressed with him.

 

“You’re lucky. Doctor Evans is working tonight.” She ignored Ed’s groan as she turned to Breda. “You can bring him to the examination room. Lindsey,” a nurse who was walking passed her turned at the sound of her name and her eyes widened when she took in Ed’s appearance, “go and get Doctor Evans and tell him the older Elric is about to be admitted, please,” she ordered and Lindsey nodded before leaving.

 

“Nurse Emma, I really don’t need to be admitted,” Ed whined before straightening up suddenly when he didn’t hear the reprimand he expected from Hawkeye. “Wait, who’s looking after Miss Riza?” He asked as he tried looking around for the injured captain who was now no longer near him.

 

“Caitlyn has just taken her to another examination room. Doctor Roberts will likely be her attending doctor,” Emma told him as Breda helped him limp into the room Emma was standing next too.

 

“Oh, good,” Ed said as he sat on the bed as directed. “I’m still not getting admitted,” Ed informed her, giving her a glare when she laughed.

 

“That’s up to the doctor, not you,” she told him, petting him lightly on the head and causing him to swat at her, though he was careful not to hit her with his automail. “Oh, that reminds me, do we need to call your mechanic?” She asked as she watched Ed put his hand back on the bed before she handed him some painkillers and a cup of water.

 

“Nah, I’ll be heading back to Resembool within the week. I’ll have them checked on then to make sure there was no damage. I’m due for a service anyway,” Ed told her with a smile as he accepted the drugs and swallowed them.

 

“Okay. Let’s get these bandages off,” she looked at the scraps of his jacket like it physically pained her to call them bandages, “and get you cleaned up. Your friend can go wait with the others in your group in the waiting room or he is welcome to go and see your brother,” Emma said, carefully unravelling the bandage around the cut on his calf first and it was obvious who she was talking to.

 

“I might go to the waiting room first and tell them you haven’t managed to escape already,” Breda said with a grin at Ed, “before I go pay Al a visit. Someone should tell him you’re here as a patient before he hears the rumours,” Breda said pointedly.

 

“Good idea. Make him stay in his bloody room though. Last thing we need is him hurting himself because he tried to lecture me before I could go see him,” Ed rolled his eyes. Breda laughed but agreed to tie Al down if he needed to.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, you’d nearly broken your record for most time between fights with people who want to kill you,” Evans sighed as he walked through the door, nodding to Breda as he left.

 

“What can I say, Doc? Criminals keep refusing to surrender when I catch up to them,” Ed shrugged and grinned when his nonchalant attitude made Evans roll his eyes.

 

“What’s the damage this time?” Evans asked Emma, who had just made Ed take his tank top off.

 

“Take your shoes and pants off please, Ed,” Emma instructed before turning to the doctor. Ed grumbled as he did so about not having any injuries that needed to be looked at by them on his legs but he was ignored. “He’s got several minor cuts on his arm and face. There’s a deep laceration on his left arm, just above his elbow, one on his right abdomen and one on his right calf muscle. He was a wound to his neck but it’s not severe. He’s been shot through his left bicep muscle but it’s a flesh wound. He has three broken ribs, two on his left side, one on his right and a head wound,” Emma summed up for him.

 

“Did you lose consciousness at all?” Evans asked.

 

“Nope. I didn’t even know I had it until I got a chance to breathe,” Ed told him cheerfully as he sat back up on his bed.

 

“Well, I doubt you have a concussion in that case,” Evans told him. Ed didn’t look surprised and Evans realised it was likely because the teenager had more experience with concussions than he did at this point. He started his own examination now that Ed wasn’t clothed, with the exception of his boxers. Evans did feel a twinge of sympathy as he saw the bruises that were forming and knew that if they had been Ed’s only injuries, the blonde would be plenty sore in the morning.

 

“Did you look after Belmont?” Ed asked casually as he watched Evans poking at his wounds. His only outward signs of pain or discomfort was the occasional twitch.

 

“No, I was attending another patient when she arrived. Doctor Allen was her doctor, I believe,” Evans told him, fingers cold on his chin and pushing slightly so Ed would look away from him and up slightly so Evans could get a proper look at his neck wound.

 

“I helped your friends with her,” Emma told him as she handed Evans some alcohol swabs so the doctor could clean up his neck from the dried blood still clinging to his skin, despite Havoc’s best efforts. Ed didn’t flinch at the sting of the alcohol, looking at Emma for the rest of what she was saying. “They had to sedate her so they could actually tend to her injuries without fear of being abused or injured,” Emma told him, disdain on her face.

 

“No one got hurt, right?” Ed asked, worry evident and Emma almost cooed at him.

 

“No one got hurt,” she assured him. Ed relaxed in relief.

 

“What’s the game plan, doc?” Ed asked as Evans wrapped up his examination.

 

“You’re going to be kept in observation with your brother until lunchtime, at least, and if you complain about it, I’ll make it so you’re kept until tomorrow morning,” Evans threatened as Ed opened his mouth, undoubtedly so he could complain. He snapped it shut and pouted when Emma giggled. “You need stitches for your arm, abdomen, and calf. You should be able to get away with a dressing on your neck since I’d prefer it if you didn’t rip the stitches out of that wound and you don’t have the best track record with stitches,” Evans said and Ed nodded in complete agreement. The only stitches that ever survived the duration they were supposed to had been the one Lance had given him on his last day with Voltron. “We’ll wrap your head and bind your ribs to stabilise them. You will need to be in a sling for at least a month to make sure the gunshot wound gets a chance to heal properly and you’ll likely not rip the stitches in that gash either,” Evans told him and Ed sighed.

 

“So, no missions for at least a month?” Ed asked sullenly and Evans did look sympathetic at his melancholic look.

 

“At least,” Evans agreed. “I’ll want you back in one week so I can check the progress of your neck injury and three weeks to check over the rest of you,” Evans told him and Ed nodded.

 

“Alright. I should be back from Resembool before that week is up,” Ed said.

 

“Good. I’ll leave you in Emma’s capable hands while I organise your admittance paperwork and have a second bed put in your brother’s room,” Evans told him, removing his gloves.

 

“Cheers, doc. I promise not to try and escape until after lunch,” Ed swore and Evans fixed him with a flat look.

 

“You’ll not leave until I say otherwise. I’ll be telling your brother about when you’re allowed to leave,” Evans told him and Ed looked betrayed.

 

“That’s low, doc,” Ed said, though his tone was merely amused.

 

“Whatever it takes to make sure you don’t injure yourself further. I don’t need you trying to break your record of shortest time between admittances,” Evans drawled before leaving the room with a nod to Emma.

 

“Should I be insulted at his lack of faith in me?” Ed asked rhetorically, causing Emma to snort.

 

“Oh, Edward, he just worries about you. He doesn’t like that you’re his most frequent patient,” Emma told him as she filled a syringe with a local anaesthetic and injected it into his arm. “Ready for your stitches?” She asked. Ed poked his arm where she’d injected him and nodded.

 

“Sure am,” Ed told her, giving her a grin when he saw her roll her eyes at his ‘test’ to see if his arm was numb before she started on the gash. 

* * *

 

“Do I get to at least make a phone call before you people lock me in my cell? Oops, I meant my hospital room?” Ed asked as he was wheeled by Emma to Al’s – and now his – hospital room. He’d been given some hospital pyjamas to get changed into while his clothing and boots were placed in bags and sat on his lap.

 

“You think you’re funny,” Emma told him before steering him towards a set of payphones and stepping away from his temporary wheelchair that he had said he didn’t need but Emma practically forced him into. “I’ll wait just over there,” Emma told him, pointing at a group of three chairs sitting against the wall.

 

“Okay,” Ed said as he stood, placed his gear on the seat, and put all of his weight on his left leg before grabbing the phone and feeding it some coins before dialling the number he wanted. It rang twice before it was picked up. “Hey, Miss Samantha. It’s Ed Elric. Is the Fuhrer still in?” He asked.

 

 _“Edward! Of course, just let me put you through,”_ Samantha told him.

 

“Thanks, Miss Samantha,” Ed said before he was transferred. The phone barely rang once before it was picked up.

 

 _“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, what happened?”_ Grumman asked.

 

“I got her back,” Ed told him and the sigh of relief Grumman gave was so big it caused the phone line to crackle. “She’s hurt but not badly. I haven’t seen her or her doctors yet but you should be able to get a sit-rep if you call the hospital and ask for a Doctor Allen,” Ed told him.

 

 _“Thank you, Ed. How are you?”_ Grumman asked and Ed chuckled a little sheepishly.

 

“Well, Belmont really didn’t like the fact that we found Miss Riza and she certainly didn’t want to come quietly,” Ed told him and this time Grumman’s sigh was one of resignation.

 

 _“How badly hurt are you?”_ Grumman asked, worry evident in his voice, which was something Ed was surprised about.

 

“Not too badly. The doc wants to keep me here until lunchtime and I’m in a sling for at least a month. Belmont managed to shoot me but it’s only a flesh wound and she broke some ribs. They really only want me here for observation and to punish me for getting hurt,” Ed told him, glaring venomlessly at Emma, who merely rolled her eyes exaggeratingly.

 

 _“The doctors only have your health in mind, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,”_ Grumman informed him, sounding far too amused. _“I take it Belmont is in custody?”_ He asked.

 

“Yeah, she’s laid up in hospital too and it is 100% her fault,” Ed told him with conviction. Grumman’s cough sounded suspiciously like laughter.

 

 _“Good to hear you weren’t too badly hurt, Edward. I’ll phone the hospital and enquire after Riza and Belmont myself. Do as your doctors tell you. Consider it an order if you must,”_ Grumman told him kindly and Ed sighed internally.

 

“Sure thing, Fuhrer. Oh, is Mustang gonna be released tonight?” Ed asked.

 

 _“Did Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes formally charge Major Belmont with the same crimes Mustang was?”_ Grumman asked.

 

“No, she was only charged for Al, Hawkeye, Chambers and resisting arrest,” Ed told him. Grumman let out a disappointed sigh.

 

 _“Unfortunately, until she is charged with those crimes, I cannot authorise Mustang’s release. I imagine Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes is overseeing his team and will call me the moment he was proof that she was behind the murders and assault and I will expedite the paperwork for Mustang’s release,”_ Grumman promised him and Ed sighed slightly.

 

“Alright. I suppose it wouldn’t kill him to spend another night in the cell. Might make him miss his paperwork even more, which will be a big help for Miss Riza,” Ed said and Grumman let out another suspicious laugh. “I’ll make sure someone from the team goes to see him tonight and tells him what happened,” Ed told him.

 

 _“Thank you, Edward. I’ll leave you to the capable hands of the hospital staff and I expect you in my office the moment you’re released,”_ Grumman told him.

 

“Yes, Sir. Have a good night, Fuhrer Grumman,” Ed said. Grumman bade him a good night as well before they hung up on each other. “Alright, let’s head to the room so my brother can yell at and fuss over me,” Ed grumbled as Emma approached him. She grabbed his bags and held them until he was sitting back in the chair before handing them over.

 

“Maybe if you didn’t wind up in the hospital as frequently as you do, Edward, your brother might not fuss and rant as much,” Emma pointed out, holding back a grin. Ed didn’t bother acknowledging that comment with a response. 

* * *

 

“You are the single worst person to send to arrest someone!” Alphonse yelled the moment he saw Edward being wheeled in. Ed wasn’t even surprised. What he was surprised about was the fact that nearly everyone who’d been at the Belmont house was packed into the room. Emma didn’t say a word, even though they certainly exceeded the amount of visitors any one patient could receive at a time. “You always end up injured and in hospital and you always make me worried! Why are you in a wheelchair? Don’t tell me you managed to damage your leg! Winry will murder you!” Al went from ranting to fussing then back to ranting so smoothly, it was nearly an artform.

 

“Would you calm down and breathe for two seconds?” Ed laughed as he climbed onto his bed. “My automail is fine, Winry won’t kill me and I was in the chair because I got stitches in my calf and Emma is mean,” Ed told him.

 

“You be nice to Emma. Heaven knows she has to put up with you far too much as it is,” Al berated him.

 

“Thank you, Alphonse. Doctor Evans will be in to check on you both in a couple of hours,” Emma told them as she set up and inserted an I.V into Ed’s now-unslinged arm before checking on Al’s.

 

“Thanks, Nurse Emma,” Ed and Al chorused. She gave them a grin before she addressed their visitors.

 

“You can stay here until Doctor Evans has done his check-up but then you must leave,” she told them and received nods and confirmations. Happy with the response, she left the room.

 

“Hey, would two of you go and tell Mustang we didn’t die?” Ed asked before Alphonse could start fussing again.

 

“Sure, I’ll go,” Breda volunteered.

 

“I’ll go with him,” Falman said.

 

“Awesome. Thank you.” The two men nodded at Ed’s thanks and left the hospital room. “Where’s Miss Maria and Brosh?” Ed asked, noticing the two weren’t in the room.

 

“Brookes asked if they wouldn’t mind guarding Belmont so he could head out to help his team,” Al told him.

 

“Oh, well, if they can handle guarding us, they can handle that nutbag,” Ed said, causing Al to crack a small grin. “What about Miss Riza?”

 

“She’s getting her arm put in a cast but she promised she’d come and see you two once she was allowed to,” Rossi told him.

 

“She’s okay, though?” Ed asked and Rossi gave him a nod. Ed relaxed against his pillows at that. “Awesome. Alright, Al, ask your questions,” Ed said as he squirmed down in his bed to get as comfortable as possible.

 

“You got shot?” Al asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Yup. It’s just a flesh wound though. I’ll be stuck in a sling for at least a month though,” Ed grumbled.

 

“Ribs?” Al didn’t even have to say more than that.

 

“Three,” Ed told him and Al let out an exasperated sigh.

 

“Can’t you ever not break ribs in one of your fights? I’m surprised your ribcage hasn’t collapsed yet,” Al said and Ed let out a bark of laughter.

 

“I asked myself the same question when I’d realised I’d busted them,” Ed said with a grin. Al just rolled his eyes.

 

“Your automail is definitely okay?” Al asked, worried his brother would be released from hospital only to be brained by Winry’s wrench.

 

“Yes, Al. I won’t be killed by the wrench-wielding witch just yet. I am going to have her check on them though when we head to Resembool after Mustang’s out. They’re about due for a service,” Ed told him and he relaxed slightly.

 

“Alright, brother,” Al said and Ed waited a few moments before looking at him incredulously. Al noticed and frowned. “What?” He asked and Ed gaped for a second.

 

“Is that it?” Al’s frown grew deeper. “No rant or lecture or whatever you normally do when I wind up in here?” Ed asked while some of those still in the room hid their amused grins behind their hands.

 

“No. I’m fairly certain Doctor Evans and Nurse Emma would’ve already taken care of that for me. Besides,” Al gave him an innocent-not-innocent smile, “I’m gonna let Elysia lecture you instead,” he told him and that earned some choked laughs from the remaining members of Mustang’s team.

 

“You’re evil,” Ed complained. “But I will be paying the favour back immediately. You were injured in a fight as well, little brother,” Ed reminded him, grinning sharply. Al’s face fell.

 

“Oh, I didn’t think of that,” he admitted and both Havoc and Fuery couldn’t hold back their laughter.

 

“Elysia is your adopted sister, right?” JJ asked and Ed and Al both nodded. “Why are you using her as a threat against each other?” She asked, curiously.

 

“Elysia doesn’t like us getting into fights with bad guys because we – mainly Ed – get injured and she doesn’t like seeing us hurt, so she can lecture us – again, mainly Ed – about how fighting is bad,” Al told her, ignoring his brother’s cries of protest.

 

“She sounds like a good kid,” Morgan said and both brothers had a proud smile on their face.

 

“She really is,” Ed said. “Certainly better than we were at her age,” Ed joked and Al laughed as he agreed. The lot of them were then distracted by the door being opened.

 

“Miss Riza!” The two boys exclaimed when they saw who was being wheeled into their room by Lindsey, the nurse from earlier. Lindsey whispered something to Hawkeye before wheeling her so she was sitting in between the two bed and facing the door. The nurse gave everyone a smile before she left, telling Hawkeye to have someone fetch a nurse when she was ready to leave.

 

“It’s still creepy when you two do that,” Morgan muttered to the boys once Lindsey left and JJ hit his arm.

 

“Hello, boys,” Hawkeye gave them a smile, “and everyone else. Where are Brookes, Breda and Falman?” She asked, immediately noticing the three men were missing.

 

“Brookes went back to the house to help his team and Breda and Falman volunteered to go tell Mustang what happened,” Ed told her. “How are you, Miss Riza?” Ed asked, wincing as he sat up better to look at her properly. She had both feet wrapped up and her left arm in a cast from the elbow down. She wore hospital garb, the same as Al and Ed, but Ed didn’t think he could see any bandages underneath them.

 

“I’m well. The doctors have said I need to stay here for three or four days until I’m able to put pressure on my feet again and I’ll be in the cast for six weeks,” Hawkeye told them. “Other than some cuts and bruises, I’m fine,” she promised. Ed was a little shocked she’d actually told them her injuries. “What about the two of you?” She asked. Ed gestured for Al to go first.

 

“I’m fine, Miss Riza. I have a cut on my head that needed stitches and my knee is still a bit sore but nothing major,” he told her. “I’m really sorry I couldn’t stop her from taking you,” Al told her, keeping his eyes focused on his lap as he worried the edge of his blanket.

 

“Alphonse, you have nothing to be sorry for. I should be apologising for not being able to assist you in that fight,” Hawkeye told him, laying a gentle hand on his knee.

 

“You don’t need to apologise to me, Miss Riza,” Al said, looking up in shock.

 

“Nor you to me,” Hawkeye assured him, petting his knee once before removing her hand once he gave her a smile and turned to the older Elric. “How about you, Edward?” She asked.

 

“Well, I got shot and three of my cuts were bad enough to need stitches. Also, I broke three of my ribs and hit my head at some stage during the fight,” Ed told her with a shrug that pulled at more than one of his injuries. “Just a typical day, really,” he joked lightly.

 

“What about your neck?” Hawkeye asked, eyeing the pristine bandages wrapped snuggly around it.

 

“Yeah, Doc Evans decided against stitches since I have a tendency to bust mine and he didn’t want to risk that with my neck. It wasn’t bad enough to absolutely require stitches but he wants me to come back a week after I’m discharged so he can check on it,” Ed told her, unable to stop himself from glimpsing the faint scar on Hawkeye’s own neck, a reminder of what happened to her on Promised Day. “I’ll be in a sling for a month though so Evans has said I’m banned from missions for the duration,” Ed told her, changing the subject a little.

 

“Elysia will be delighted to have someone to fuss over for so long,” Hawkeye said with a small grin.

 

“She’ll be worse than Al,” Ed groaned before laughing at his brother’s offended ‘hey!’.

 

“Behave, boys,” JJ said with an amused smile of her own. “It’s good to have you back, Captain Hawkeye,” JJ smiled warmly at her.

 

“Thank you,” Hawkeye returned the smile. “Would you mind catching me up on what happened after Belmont attacked the two of us? I’d like to know how you figured out her identity so quickly,” Hawkeye said, sitting forward slightly in her wheelchair as she gave them her undivided attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are especially welcomed with this chapter! I'd love to know your opinions on the fight scene


	23. Chapter 23

As promised, by midday Edward was allowed to leave the hospital on the condition that he take it easy on his leg and comes back in a week’s times so Doctor Evans could check on his neck. When asked about Alphonse, Evans contemplated for a minute before deciding that if he was still healing nicely after another 24 hours, he could be sent home as well and come back to have his stitches looked at when Ed got his neck checked. Al looked a little sad that he couldn’t leave with Ed but he accepted the decision with far more grace than Ed would’ve done.

 

Ed swung by Hawkeye’s room to see how she was going and what the doctors had said about her recovery time now that it had been over 12 hours since they’d been admitted. The swelling in her feet had gone down a massive amount, leading the doctors to believe that her injury had looked worse because she’d been putting weight on them before getting them looked at. Now they were reconsidering the length of time she’d need to stay in the hospital for. They were certain none of the bones in her feet were broken but they still weren’t willing to let her put any weight on them for the next 24 hours. After that time, they would see about when she could be released but there was a familiar steely glint in her eyes when she told Ed she would be released in a day’s time. Ed was certain she would be in the office by lunchtime tomorrow.

 

When Ed asked which room Belmont was admitted into, Nurse Emma had refused to tell him until he assured her that he had no desire to see her. When she asked why Ed wanted the room number, he told her it was so he could see the two soldiers assigned to guarding her room and let them know what the doctor had said about his and his brother’s injuries. Emma finally gave him a compromise; he could go and speak to the guards but only if she came with him to ensure the patient wouldn’t be disturbed. Ed accepted her terms and she led them to the other side of the hospital.

 

“Ed!” Maria exclaimed once she spotted him. Brosh was nowhere to be seen so Ed assumed he was standing guard inside the room. Ed sincerely hoped they were keeping Belmont sedated so Brosh didn’t have to suffer through any of her rants or pleads to let her go because she was only doing what was right. “Oh, Ed, are you alright?” Maria asked as she took in his appearance.

 

“I’m fine, Miss Maria. Just stuck in a sling and banned from going on missions for a month. How are you and Brosh holding up?” He asked, casting a significant glance to the closed door.

 

“Honestly, Edward, no one is as much a handful to guard as you and your brother,” Maria chided teasingly, “but we’re good. They’ve been keeping former Major Belmont sedated so she can’t injure herself further by trying to escape. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes has promised to have us replaced with a new shift by the end of today so we won’t have to guard her in a few hours’ time,” Maria told him.

 

“Good. I’m sure Major Armstrong will be looking forward to have you guys back,” Ed told her and she grinned at him.

 

“He came by to say hello to us this morning when he called in to see his sister this morning. He said he would be seeing you after he’d finished talking to her. Did he not come by?” She asked when Ed looked surprised at the revelation.

 

“No, not that I know of,” Ed told her. His body had taken the opportunity Doctor Evans had given him to catch up on sleep once everyone was ordered to leave his and Al’s room when the doctor had checked up on them so he hadn’t woken up until late in the morning.

 

“We asked the major if he wouldn’t mind paying you a visit later so you could rest,” Emma told him, a little sheepishly. “We know what the major is like when he’s trying to encourage healing,” she told them.

 

“Wow, you guys take patient care to the next level,” Ed said before giving her a wide grin. “Thanks! I’m sure Major Armstrong will hunt me down on the base later but at least I’ll be able to put a desk or something between us,” Ed laughed and Maria joined in.

 

“Did the doctor give you any indication if Al can be released soon?” Maria asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Doc said that if he and Miss Riza both look like they’re doing well, they can be released in a day’s time,” Ed told her.

 

“I’m sure Al will be excited about that. He’s been getting a little fidgety. He finished all the books you brought him, even though he read them as slow as he possibly could,” Maria told him.

 

“That’s just an Elric for you. We don’t like being stuck in one place for too long,” Ed laughed when Maria nodded in complete agreement. “Anyway, I need to get going. I promised Fuhrer Grumman that I’d report to his office once I was discharged and I don’t want Miss Riza to come back to the office and see that there’s unfinished paperwork,” Ed said.

 

“I’m sure Captain Hawkeye will appreciate that,” Maria said. “Brosh and I will stop and say goodbye to Alphonse once our replacements arrive,” Maria told him and Ed nodded.

 

“He’ll be happy to see you,” Ed gave her a smile. “Thanks for all your help the last few days and thanks for staying here with Al. I really appreciated it all,” he said and Maria gave his flesh shoulder a careful squeeze.

 

“It was my pleasure, Ed. It was very interesting working with you and the others,” Maria told him.

 

“Well, at least you weren’t bored while escorting everyone everywhere,” Ed grinned.

 

“It’s never boring when you’re involved, Edward. I feel like you take it as a personal challenge to get involved in cases that never end up being straight-forward,” Maria raised a brow as Ed laughed.

 

“You’re not wrong,” Ed winked before he nodded to Emma. “I’ll see you later, Miss Maria,” Ed said with a small bow.

 

“Have a good day, Edward. Don’t hurt yourself further doing something stupid,” Maria gave him a flat look when he gave her a ‘who, me?’ look.

 

“Have a good day, Lieutenant,” Emma nodded to Maria as she led Edward away from them.

 

“You too, Emma,” Maria said warmly.

 

“Tell Brosh that I owe him one for helping us out,” Ed said as he allowed Emma to gently lead him to the front entrance. Maria gave him a nod and promised she would when they switched positions. Ed gave her one last smile of thanks before he disappeared around the corner with Emma. 

* * *

 

“Hey, Havoc, you here to see Al?” Ed asked when he spotted the blonde lieutenant just after Emma left him to find his own way back into the office since her job really wasn’t escorting Ed around the hospital.

 

“Nah, I just finished saying hello to him. I came here to pick you up. Figured you’d be calling for a car to take you to the office so thought I’d save you the phone call,” Havoc told him.

 

“Yeah, Doc Evans would probably skin me if I tried walking to the office from here,” Ed grinned as he followed Havoc outside to the waiting car.

 

“I’m sure your brother wouldn’t leave the ranting to Elysia if that happened,” Havoc laughed. “How are you feeling this morning anyways, chief?” He asked as he held the passenger-side door open for Ed.

 

“Like I went a couple of rounds with Teacher,” Ed told him and Havoc winced in sympathy. Izumi Curtis was not a woman he wanted to find himself fighting against.

 

“Damn, chief. You sure you should be out of hospital?” He asked once he was behind the steering wheel.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I can at least get the paperwork caught up for Miss Riza and it’s not like I can take on any cases myself since I’m technically still Mustang so there’s no reason to keep me in the hospital,” Ed pointed out.

 

“Fair point,” Havoc conceded. “There’s not much in the way of paperwork. Fuhrer’s still delegating most of it to other departments where he can,” Havoc told him.

 

“Yeah, I figured he would’ve. I’ve gotta go report to him when we get to the base.” Ed squirmed in his seat until he was comfortable while Havoc weaved through the traffic.

 

“You spoke to him already?” Havoc asked and Ed frowned for a moment before realising he must’ve forgotten to actually tell them about the fact that he’d called Grumman before heading to his and Al’s hospital room the previous night.

 

“Oh, yeah. I called him once Emma finished patching me up so I could tell him we got Miss Riza back and arrested Belmont. He said he’d be calling the hospital to get reports on all our injuries but he still wanted me to come to his office once I was released to give him a verbal report,” Ed told Havoc.

 

“Have you even eaten or had coffee at least yet?” Havoc asked and Ed snorted.

 

“I had what the hospital considered food and I’d honestly drink the mess hall coffee before I drank the hospital coffee. That stuff is for when you have absolutely no choice but you need caffeine,” Ed told him with a laugh.

 

“Very true. We’ll stop somewhere first so you don’t accidentally snap at the Fuhrer because you’re not caffeinated yet,” Havoc said and Ed grinned at him.

 

“This is why you’re one of my favourites,” Ed told him as seriously as he could manage while he was trying to contain his laughter. He lost the battle, though, when Havoc let out a bark of laughter of his own.

 

“I’ll have to let the others know you’re so easy to win over,” Havoc teased once they got their laughter under control.

 

“You can only win me over with the really good coffee,” Ed told him. Havoc nodded seriously.

 

“I’ll make sure the others know that as well for whenever we need to get on your good side,” Havoc said, “or need to ask you a favour,” he smirked as Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“Favours need to bought with good food _and_ good coffee,” Ed grinned at him.

 

“Duly noted,” Havoc grinned back. 

* * *

 

Havoc had decided while Ed was eating proper food that he would be accompanying Ed up to the Fuhrer’s office. Ed had pointed out that with Belmont caught and in hospital with guards, they didn’t need to use the buddy-system anymore but Havoc had said something about Ed’s uncanny ability to find trouble anywhere and that he needed someone backing him up just in case. Ed had glared at him but didn’t argue any further.

 

So once Havoc had returned the car to the military car park and Ed had gathered up his rubbish and binned it, they made their way to the Fuhrer’s office. Quite a few soldiers were out and about, to neither Havoc’s nor Ed’s surprise since it was early afternoon, and several of them did double-takes at Ed’s appearance. The others looked far too used to seeing an injured Edward walking through the base to look surprised, though they did offer him wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

They finally made it to Grumman’s office and went to open the door only to have it open and have Colonel Rubio walk out of it, nearly running into them both. Ed was a little surprised when Havoc had grabbed him by his automail shoulder and pulled him backwards slightly while stepping partially in front of him, as though protecting him from danger.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, Lieutenant Havoc, my apologies. I didn’t think anyone would be at the door,” Rubio said as he straightened himself from the stumble backwards he’d taken in an effort to stop himself from running into them.

 

“Colonel Rubio,” Havoc said as he snapped a salute, which prompted Ed into remembering that he should probably do the same since Rubio was a superior officer.

 

“What brings you by the Fuhrer’s office, if you don’t mind me asking, lieutenant-colonel?” Rubio asked once he’d released Ed and Havoc from their salutes.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman asked me to pay him a visit once the hospital was willing to release me from their clutches,” Ed told him. Rubio looked a little unsure of how to respond to the way he’d worded that.

 

“The hospital wasn’t keeping you prisoner, chief,” Havoc shook his head in amusement. “It’s their job to make sure you aren’t going to keel over once you leave so they have to ask you to stay for as long as it takes,” Havoc chided him.

 

“That’s just what they want you to think, Havoc,” Ed told him conspiratorially before remembering Rubio was still standing there. “Oh yeah,” Ed said as he blinked at him. “Anyway, Fuhrer Grumman wanted me to give him a report of last night’s arrest and fight,” Ed told him and Rubio’s jaw tightened a little.

 

“Actually, that was why I was in there as well,” Rubio told them. Ed and Havoc shared a startled look at the fact that a superior officer was about to offer up this information without any prompting on their behalf. “Fuhrer Grumman was just informing me of the charges former Major Belmont would be facing and to inform me that at some time today, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes or some of his team would be paying my office a visit to go through Belmont’s desk. He also wished to warn me not to be surprised if more charges were laid against her in the near future,” he told them. Ed really wasn’t sure what to say in response to that. Somehow he figured that apologising that one of his subordinates turned out to be a psychopath probably wasn’t the best way to go about it. Thankfully, he was saved from having to make any sort of response when Rubio shook himself slightly. “Anyway, I need to get back to work and I don’t wish to hold you up any longer. Have a good day, gentlemen, and I hope you heal quickly, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Rubio said, nodding to Ed before moving around them before either man could say or do anything in response.

 

“He was supposed to wait for us to reply and salute again, right? I haven’t been imagining that as part of military protocol for the last 6 years, have I?” Ed asked as they watched Rubio’s retreating form walk away from them.

 

“Let’s go talk with Fuhrer Grumman,” Havoc said as he shook his head in amusement as Ed’s questions.

* * *

 

“Good afternoon, Miss Samantha,” Ed greeted as they walked through the doors and he spotted the woman sitting behind her desk. The secretary looked up immediately at the sound of his voice.

 

“Edward! I didn’t think you would be released today from what the hospital told us about your injuries,” Samantha said as she took in the sight of him as he and Havoc approached her desk. “How are you?” She asked as she stood to move around the desk.

 

“I’m fine. None of my injuries were anything overly major,” Havoc snorted at that and Ed glared at him before turning back to Samantha with a smile. “They weren’t major enough to require me staying at the hospital any longer than I had,” he amended slightly. “I was asked to speak to Fuhrer Grumman after I’d been released. Is he able to talk now?” Ed asked, figuring the standing orders that allowed him and Brookes to barge in whenever they needed to were probably null and void by now.

 

“Yes, he’s got some time now. His meeting with Colonel Rubio went a little faster than he expected,” Samantha told him as she walked over to the massive doors that led to Grumman’s inner office and knocked.

 

“Enter,” Grumman’s muffled voice said from the other side of the door and Samantha pushed the doors open. “Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, Lieutenant Havoc, it’s good to see you,” Grumman greeted once he spotted them.

 

“You too, Fuhrer Grumman,” Havoc said as he and Ed saluted. Grumman waved them out of it before dismissing Samantha with a nod of thanks.

 

“How are you, Edward?” Grumman asked as he took in the bandaged injuries he could see on him. He did have the reports from the hospital pertaining to Edwards, Riza and Belmont’s injuries but it still saddened him to see the proof of those injuries in person.

 

“I’ll live,” Ed told him with a grin. “Doc said I’ve been grounded for a month though, at the very least, to give my arm a chance to heal,” Ed told him.

 

“You two can take a seat,” Grumman said, realising he’d neglected to offer. Both of them sat down with a thankful murmur, “and I’m glad to hear that you’re alright, Edward,” Grumman said with a kind and honest smile.

 

“Thank you, Sir,” Ed said, a little surprised to hear Grumman admit that.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes paid me a visit this morning to arrange some guards for former Major Belmont to reprieve the two stationed to her now and informed me that Belmont kept incredibly detailed notes on her whole operation. He’s assigned two of his team to the sole task of going through them while he and the others continue gathering any evidence they uncover,” Grumman told him and Ed felt a wave of relief wash through him. At least they’ll have physical proof that Mustang didn’t do anything and wouldn’t have to rely on getting Belmont’s confession.

 

“That’s awesome. When is Mustang going to be released?” Ed asked and felt uneasy when Grumman gave a sympathetic wince.

 

“Unfortunately, they haven’t uncovered anything in what they’ve read of the plans yet to say that Belmont was the one to frame Mustang. Until they do, technically they have no proof and since Mustang can’t be released until we have tangible evidence saying he absolutely had nothing to do with the crimes he was charged with, I can’t authorise his release. Even then, once I’ve gotten the proof we need, I still need to draw up release papers and submit them. Though I plan on expediting them, it’s unlikely Mustang will be released until at least 24hours after their submission,” Grumman explained. “That is, of course, as long as I don’t receive pushback from anyone,” Grumman said, tone making it obvious who he was talking about.

 

“You could always order them to, like, South City or something for the week,” Ed suggested and Grumman laughed.

 

“If only it were that simple,” he chuckled before leaning back in his chair. “I’ll need a written report from everyone on your team, yourself and Agent Hotchner – though his won’t be added to the official files – but I would still appreciate a verbal report from yourself and Lieutenant Havoc, if you don’t mind,” Grumman said. Both Ed and Havoc nodded in agreement and at Ed’s urging, Havoc went first.

 

He told Grumman about Ed’s orders before everyone bar the BAU entered the house silently, using Ed’s alchemy to pick the lock. He explained how he waited for everyone to file downstairs until he was the last one left and how he’d shut the door carefully behind them so they would have that small security from Belmont while they were in the basement. He explained how he and Ed got Hawkeye out of the chair Belmont had tied her to and how Ed suspected her arm was broken so Havoc splinted it. He bypassed Ed and Hawkeye’s talk, figuring it didn’t really pertain to anything and it was private, before telling Grumman about Fuery’s discovery that the doors were chained from the outside. He explained how Ed realised he’d have to deconstruct the doors since he couldn’t physically touch the chains from where they were but in doing so, the sound of the chains hitting the ground attracted Belmont’s attention and suddenly Ed was telling them to get out.

 

He told Grumman about helping Hawkeye out – though not how he helped her out since he valued his kneecaps – and that Fuery followed them before hearing the sounds of gunfire. He talked about how Fuery kept guard while Havoc tended to Hawkeye’s other injuries while the agents, Falman, Breda and Brookes tightened the perimeter on the house so everyone was in the backyard and able to get into the basement quickly if needed. He described seeing the flashes of alchemy and the shouts from Belmont as Ed faced her in combat before finally hearing the sound of a body hitting the ground and Ed’s call for Brookes to get down in the basement to arrest her. Then he told Grumman about how they heard Brookes yell for Ed just after they heard another gunshot before seeing the two men emerge from the basement after there was a flash of fire.

 

At that point, Ed took over. He backtracked to describe what had happened in the basement after Fuery, Havoc and Hawkeye had left. He recounted every move he and Belmont had made and how he’d hit her mid-leap with a stone hand and thought she was unconscious when she hit the ground only to have her suddenly up and aiming a gun at Brookes. Ed told Grumman about how he used flame alchemy after he’d been shot to buy him and Brookes a few seconds to get out of the basement.

 

He watched for Grumman’s reaction to the revelation that Mustang was teaching him flame alchemy. The old man didn’t show any surprise so Ed figured he already knew but he also didn’t show any anger or disapproval at Ed being taught, something that almost had Ed flushing as he realised it meant Grumman thought Ed could be trusted with it.

 

He then went on to describe how he heard Belmont running through the house to the back door to continue their fight so he ordered Brookes to get out the way. He went on to continue describing the fight in as much detail as he could remember before telling Grumman about how he saw that Hawkeye had a gun in her hand and manipulated Belmont into a position where Hawkeye would get a clear shot. He then explained how the shot itself didn’t take Belmont down so he kicked her in the wound and that did the trick so he alchemised some stone cuffs around her hands so he could remove the cuffs she wore with her arrays carved on them. He finished up by telling Grumman that Brookes came over and together they got her into the cuffs Brookes had as Ed alchemised away his cuffs.

 

“Thank you for telling me,” Grumman said once Ed had finished speaking. “I wish the mission had gone a bit smoother for you and resulted in less injuries all around but well done for completing it. I’m sure everyone is waiting for you, Edward, so I won’t keep you any longer. I’ll need your reports on what happened, like I said, and I would like them before the end of the business day tomorrow, if possible. I understand Riza might not be released for a couple of days so I’ll have her write her report once she’s been released and permitted to be back at work,” Grumman told them.

 

“Of course, Fuhrer Grumman. We’ll make sure the others know to when their report is needed,” Havoc told him and Grumman dipped his head in thanks.

 

“In that case, you’re dismissed. Make sure you look after yourself, Edward,” Grumman said and Ed laughed.

 

“I don’t think my brother will ever let me out of his sight again, Sir, and I doubt that between him and Miss Gracia, I’ll be allowed to do much more than dress myself,” he told him, voice filled with amusement. Grumman chuckled in agreement.

 

“I imagine you’re correct but nonetheless,” Grumman said and Ed nodded.

 

“I’ll try and stay out of trouble,” Ed promised. Both Grumman and Ed ignored Havoc’s muttered ‘good luck with that’. “See you later, Sir,” Ed said. Grumman nodded away the salutes Ed and Havoc gave him before the two left the office with a quiet goodbye to Samantha, who was on the phone by the time they came out of the office and since they didn’t want to disturb her, they made do with a simple wave that she returned with a smile. 

* * *

 

Ed hadn’t felt glad that Garcia hadn’t been sent with the BAU agents the entire time they’d been in Amestris until this moment because he likely would’ve been smothered if a third person had joined Prentiss and JJ in the hug they wrapped him up in the moment they realised who had walked through the door.

 

“You lot will send me back to the hospital if you squeeze me too hard, just so you know,” Ed gasped as the two women hugged him. His comment had them backing off immediately and looking over him with concern.

 

“Are you alright?” JJ asked.

 

“Should you even be out of hospital yet? You got shot!” Prentiss asked at the same time as JJ and Ed had to hold his automail hand up to get them to stop piling him with questions so he had the chance to answer them. Absolutely none of the others were any help and Ed glared at Morgan, who hadn’t managed to stop his laughter in time.

 

“I’m fine and yes, the hospital let me out. The bullet wound was only a flesh wound anyways, remember?” Ed pointed out and both women looked only slightly mollified by his response.

 

“How’s your neck?” JJ asked as she lightly touched the pristine bandages on the uninjured side of his neck. Ed grinned at her as he lightly grasped her hand and pulled it away from his neck. After Haggar, he’d had a slight aversion to people touching his neck in anything other than a medical capacity.

 

The first time he’d accidentally revealed that had been when Havoc had misjudged how far away from him Ed was when he threw his arm around the alchemist’s shoulders only a week or so after the Voltron adventure and ended up with his hand resting on the side of Ed’s neck instead. Havoc had been the only one in the room to notice how quickly Ed had moved out of his grip and spun to face him, hands half-raised in his fighting stance, but he must’ve told the others and Al because all of them had been exceptionally careful about pulling him into a side-hug for a couple of weeks.

 

“All good. I have to go back in a week so Doc Evans can check it but it’s fine,” Ed assured her, squeezing her hand gently before releasing it and moving towards his desk where there was a small pile of paperwork waiting for him.

 

“It’s good to see you out of hospital, Ed. How’s your head?” Hotch asked him, having noticed that he didn’t have any bandages around the top of his forehead, like he’d had the previous night.

 

“Yeah, it’s just a bump,” Ed shrugged his right shoulder nonchalantly, “and I’m pretty used to them so I know how to keep it clean and what to look for. Doc knows I’d take the bandages off the minute I’m out of hospital so he doesn’t bother wrapping a head wound when I leave unless it’s to cover stitches or something,” Ed told him as he sat down. “Did anything happen while I was in hospital?” Ed asked, twirling the pen he’d picked up in between his fingers as he leant back in his chair.

 

“Not really. News about Belmont’s arrest spread through the base almost as quickly as the news of Mustang’s arrest,” Falman told him. “No one seems really surprised that she was arrested and I haven’t heard of anyone who’s tried overly hard to suggest that she could be innocent. From what I have heard, everyone seems to be in agreement that she could have killed Chambers, kidnapped Hawkeye and hurt Al because she was a bit _too_ quiet and that unnerved a lot of people,” Falman explained.

 

“Huh,” was all Ed said in response to that. “Anything about the generals?” Ed asked, probably a little too eagerly for anyone to mistake it as a casual question though absolutely no one called him out on it.

  
“Grumman and Brookes have kept the fact that Belmont is under suspicion for the crimes Mustang is charged with under wraps right now so as far as the generals are concerned, Mustang is still going on trial tomorrow,” Falman told him. “I managed to catch Brookes after he reported to Grumman this morning and he informed me that the generals won’t know anything about Belmont being charged with those crimes until after the fact. Brookes is confident that his team will have the evidence in no time to exonerate Mustang,” Falman reported and Ed grinned widely.

 

“Oh, I so hope they barge into Grumman’s office while I’m in there. I don’t think Grumman would mind me forgetting what manners are if that happens,” Ed’s grin turned slightly sharp at the thought before he jolted as he recalled something. “Oh, yeah. Speaking of Grumman, he wants a report from all of you,” he gestured to the Amestrians, “and you,” he pointed at Hotch, who looked a little surprised, “by the end of the work day tomorrow,” Ed told them.

 

“Why does he want one from me? I didn’t think he’d want written proof of us here,” Hotch said and Ed shrugged.

 

“You lot are gonna be in our reports and Grumman said yours wouldn’t go into the official case file. He’ll probably end up heavily censoring our reports as well, to protect the fact that it’s apparently possible to travel inter-dimensionally between our worlds,” Ed told him. “I think he just wants your report so he’s got an account of what happened outside the house while we entered, in case someone tries to claim we entered illegally or something like that,” Ed told him and Hotch nodded in acceptance.

 

“Alright, I’ll write it up for him. He doesn’t require one from the others?” Hotch asked and Ed shrugged his shoulder.

 

“He didn’t say anything about them doing one up. Just mentioned you, since you’re the team lead,” Ed told him. “Probably wouldn’t hurt to have them read over your report and sign it, just in case,” Ed said when Morgan and Prentiss shared a smirk at the fact that only Hotch had to write a report up. “Maybe even have them write a page telling what they heard or saw before the fight moved out of the basement,” Ed suggested innocently while Morgan and Prentiss gave him a betrayed look.

 

“Yes, that’s probably a good idea,” Hotch nodded in agreement, giving Ed a shadow of a wink as Morgan barely held back his groan before he turned to his team. “I’ll need your written accounts of what happened from the time we arrived, to the time Brookes and Ed emerged from the basement by lunch tomorrow,” Hotch ordered and everyone nodded, though Morgan and Prentiss didn’t look very happy about it.

 

“Well, I’m gonna get this paperwork done before Miss Riza is released from hospital,” Ed announced, leaning forward in his chair once more. “Then I’m gonna think of a way to get Mustang back for promoting me,” Ed told them, looking so enthusiastic about that that nearly everyone was chuckling at his expression.

 

“Oh, speaking of Mustang, Ed,” Breda said, snapping his fingers as he remembered something, “he said he wants to see you as soon as possible after your release from hospital,” Breda told him.

 

Ed sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “I’ll go see him after the paperwork is done then plot my revenge,” Ed said decisively, nodding once to himself as the others rolled their eyes in amusement. “You should get started on your reports or any paperwork that needs to be done,” Ed suggested.

 

“That’s a good idea. We don’t need Captain Hawkeye shooting us within the first five minutes of her walking into the office,” Havoc nodded wisely and the other Amestrians murmured in agreement before getting to work.

 

“I’ve been meaning to ask but you guys exaggerate when you say that Hawkeye will shoot you for not completing paperwork, right?” Morgan asked Ed as he sat next to the blonde.

 

“Well, as far as I know, she’s never actually hit any of them but she’s certainly put some holes in the walls,” Ed told him a little distractedly as he read over a report. “She’s been close to shooting Mustang from what I’ve heard from the others though so I honestly wouldn’t put it past her to put one in him,” Ed told him as he signed the report he’d been reading before moving on to the next one.

 

“You people are insane,” Morgan muttered as he grabbed what he needed to write his own report up. There were several snorts from the Amestrians but no one denied his comment. 

* * *

 

“Done!” Ed exclaimed, making just about everyone in the office jump from the sudden noise but the blonde didn’t seem to notice as he happily stacked his paperwork one-handed. “Whose turn is it to get this stuff where it’s supposed to be?” Ed asked, finally looking up at everyone.

 

“Mine,” Falman told him, reaching out a hand to take the paperwork. Ed scooped it up and handed it to him with a smile that Falman returned as he plopped the paperwork onto his desk, away from his own.

 

“I’ll go see Mustang now so he doesn’t blow a fuse,” Ed said as he stood up and stretched as best he could with a damaged arm, calf and busted ribs. At the same time, Fuery and Reid looked half-ready to get out of their chairs.

 

“Can Fuery and I come with you?” Reid asked, having noticed the bespectacled man’s movements. Ed shrugged, seemingly uncaringly.

 

“Sure, why not?” Ed said, waving for them to follow him as he headed to the door. “We’ll be back later,” Ed said before he disappeared through the door, Reid and Fuery hot on his tail. The others didn’t even get the chance to even say anything before the door was shut behind the three men. 

* * *

 

The walk to the holding cells was disrupted twice, both times by Ed, who stopped walking at seemingly random times. The first time, he only paused in his step and his face pinched in confusion as his head cocked to the side, like he was trying to figure something out. When Reid and Fuery asked if he was alright, Ed shook it off with a laugh and assurance that he was fine before continuing along the path. The second time had Ed nearly drop to his knee as he grasped his head, letting out a gasp of pain and shock.

 

“Ed!” Reid and Fuery both shouted as they grabbed at the blonde. Only Fuery stopped him from going fully to his knees without hurting him even further. Reid had forced himself to stop when he realised he had been about to grab Ed’s injured arm so all he could do now was dither about slightly, trying to figure out what was wrong with his friend, who now had his eyes screwed up in pain.

 

Fuery helped lower Ed to the ground so the blonde was now sitting against a random wall and out of the way of any passing soldiers or civilian military employees. Both Fuery and Reid knelt in front of Ed, who was now pressing his automail palm into his temple, apparently trying to ease some kind of pain as he brought his knees up to his chest.

 

“Would the lot of you just calm down and let me talk?!” Ed finally snapped, growling in anger as he rubbed against his temple harder. Reid looked completely confused by Fuery seemed to have some kind of idea as to what was happening since he relaxed slightly.

 

“What’s happening?” Reid asked, looking at Fuery for answers, having noticed the other man relax slightly at Ed’s outburst.

 

“I think it has something to do with the Lions,” Fuery whispered, keeping his voice as low as possible, even as he checked the hallway they were in for signs of any other people nearby. “Ed said he muted his connection with them – and they with him – while he was in Resembool. As far as I know, this is the first time they’ve muted their bond,” Fuery told him, eyes turning to watch Ed closely.

 

“Are you gonna let me explain what happened or are you lot gonna keep trying to give me the worst migraine I’ve ever had?” Ed asked, snappishly, finally opening his eyes. Reid noticed that his gold irises seemed glazed over and figured that meant he was listening to something they couldn’t hear. Fuery stood and leaned against the wall, keeping Ed next to him but also keeping an eye on the corridor. Reid decided to sit next to Ed and leaned his head against the wall as Ed fell silent and waited until the blonde was able to explain what was happening. 

* * *

 

They’d been about a third of the way to the holding cells when Ed felt what he could only describe as a tickle in his mind. Like something foreign but familiar had pressed slightly against it but the feeling was so fleeting that he’d almost thought he’d imagined in it. Whatever it was had caused him to break his stride slightly and both Fuery and Reid had immediately asked if he was okay. He’d assured them that he was fine with a laugh and they continued on their way but not even a minute later, Ed let out a pained, shocked noise as pain erupted in his mind, strong enough to cause him to nearly hit the ground.

 

 _“EDWARD ELRIC, WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO YOURSELF NOW?!”_ Five voices roared in his mind and Ed was barely aware of the fact that one of the two accompanying him had saved him from introducing his face to the ground and helped him sit down. He knew the two men would be worried and fussing but Ed could barely think straight against the pain that having his bond with the Lions reopened forcefully and having said Lions all lecturing him at the same time caused him.

 

“Would the lot of you just calm down and let me talk?” Ed growled out, trying to ease the pain by rubbing his temple as hard as he could. His eyes were screwed shut but he could hear Reid and Fuery talking, though they sounded muffled, and they didn’t sound worried so Ed assumed Fuery had some kind of idea of what was happening.

 

None of the Lions seemed to hear him and Ed realised he’d probably spoken out loud rather than through their bond and the lectures continued uninterrupted. Trying to follow five conversations at once was hard enough but trying to follow five in his own head was making him nauseous and irritable. He felt himself open his eyes and saw that both Fuery and Reid were kneeling in front of him.

 

“Are you gonna let me explain what happened or are you lot gonna keep trying to give me the worst migraine I’ve ever had?” Ed demanded, making sure he sent the message through the bond this time, although he was sure he said it out loud as well. He watched as Fuery stood and moved next to him while Reid settled himself on the floor close by.

 

 _“You better have a good explanation,”_ Red growled through the bond and Ed heaved a sigh of relief as the others backed off, taking the pain with them. He could feel their regret at causing him said pain but none of them apologised yet, waiting for him to speak first.

 

“Of course I do,” Ed grumbled, this time just through the bond. “I’m gonna give you the short version though since I’m actually on my way somewhere and have just scared the crap out of the two people with me,” Ed warned them. “I promise I’ll explain everything in more detail later. Or you can just look at my memories, if you wanted,” Ed offered.

 

 _“Tell us why you are so hurt and we’ll discuss everything else later,”_ Black said, much more nicely than Red had sounded before. Ed felt Red’s indignation at that thought and mentally stuck his tongue out at her, which she huffed at.

 

He summed up the days between his dulling their connection and the battle with Leah by telling them they’d been joined by some of the agents he’d told the Lions about and were running their own investigation while trying to stop the generals from bullying Grumman into doing what they wanted. He then gave them the very condensed version of happened during the fight with Leah and the hospital aftermath.

 

“Now I’m on my way to talk with Mustang and catch him up on everything,” Ed finished his report with that. He could feel that they weren’t anywhere near satisfied and he knew he would have to give them a much more detailed version of events later but that would wait until after he’d spoken to Mustang, at the very least. He couldn’t stop his mental flinch at the idea of speaking with the older alchemist and he knew the Lions had noticed. “I will explain everything properly, I swear, but I do need to get to Mustang before the others realise how long I’ve been gone and get worried,” Ed told them. He wouldn’t put it passed those still in the office to organise a search party if Ed, Fuery and Reid took longer than they deemed acceptable. “Or you can take up my offer and rifle through my memories, if you want,” Ed reminded them but he felt their unease at that. None of the Lions liked the idea of going through his memories unless necessary or if Ed accidentally exposed them to his memories during a nightmare or something similar.

 

 _“I think we would prefer to talk with you about it. Our Paladins may have sensed our worry for you through their bonds and are now demanding to know if you’re alright. Lance is especially worried,”_ Blue told him and Ed groaned slightly. As nice as it was to know that the Paladins cared enough about him to pester their Lion for answers, he was embarrassed that they knew he’d been hurt again. _“We’ve promised them that they can be part of the conversation so you will need to tell us about what’s happened since we’ve been gone so you can answer their questions,”_ Blue informed him and Ed sighed.

 

“Okay,” Ed agreed, shifting where he sat slightly. “I’ll try to talk to you tonight, assuming nothing happens between now and then that requires me to deal with it. We should have a few uninterrupted hours that way,” Ed told them.

 

 _“We’ll hold you to that,”_ Red informed him and Ed rolled his eyes at her brusqueness.

 

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Ed told her, a slight grin gracing his features as Red huffed a little and the Lions’ presence faded slightly once more. Ed felt a momentary panic that they would be withdrawing almost completely, like they had before, but they didn’t and Ed relaxed as he allowed himself a moment to get used to having them back in his head before he made himself open his eyes once more.

 

“Ed, are you alright?” Reid asked, having noticed immediately that Ed’s eyes were no longer glazed over.

 

“Yeah,” Ed told him, a little slowly before nodding once. “Yeah, I’m fine now,” he said, sounding much surer of his answer.

 

“Was it the Lions?” Fuery asked as he moved to stand in front of Ed and offer him one of his hands. Ed accepted the help up with no complaint.

 

“Yeah. Turns out that reestablishing a mental connection with a bunch of over-protective and angry Lions is a painful experience,” Ed grimaced slightly and felt the Lions regret at the pain their actions caused once more.

 

“They lectured you, huh?” Fuery asked as he offered Reid his hand, like he had Ed, and hauled the young BAU agent up to his feet.

 

“Remind me never to complain about Al’s mother-henning ever again,” Ed told him seriously and Fuery grinned in amusement.

 

“You sure you’re alight? You didn’t aggravate any of your injuries, did you?” Reid fussed and Ed shook his head.

 

“No, I’m as good as I was before I had five Lions back in my head,” Ed reassured him with a smile that Reid returned, though his was a little unsure. “I’ll explain as we walk. I think we’ve spent too much time on the ground and we did promise the others we wouldn’t be too long,” Ed pointed out and both of his companions nodded. Despite the pain he’d just experienced, Ed couldn’t help but feel much happier than he had in the last few days. They’d caught the person truly responsible for the murders and assault, got Hawkeye back and now he had the Lions back in his mind. He felt their happiness at having him back and the mental hug they gave him as he walked with Fuery and Reid and Ed couldn’t stop his smile. 

* * *

 

The rest of their walk to the holding cells was completely uneventful. Ed could feel the Lions far more clearly than he could before Mustang’s arrest but Blue assured him that in a day or two he would be used to their presence again and would barely notice them. The Lions were happy enough to look through Ed’s eyes so they could see everything he saw. Thankfully for Ed, there was no obvious difference to him when this happened so no one was any the wiser about what was happening.

 

The sign in process went as smoothly as always. Fuery and Reid handed over their weapons and Ed went and stood with the guard who was waiting to escort them to Mustang’s cell while the others signed the sign-in sheet. Once they were all done, the waiting guard led them down the familiar path to Mustang’s cell and Ed felt a small surge of hope that this would be the last time he had to walk down this path. He could feel the Lions worry for Mustang and sent his surprise at that through their bond, having not expected them to be as concerned as they were, considering they’d barely warmed up to Mustang before the two alchemists left. None of the Lions decided to comment on his surprise though, which Ed felt was a little rude.

 

“Can’t you ever just arrest someone without fighting them until either of you are a bloody pulp, Fullmetal?” Mustang’s exasperated voice broke Ed out of his silent efforts to wheedle the Lions’ reasons for not liking Mustang out of them and the blonde jolted slightly when he realised they were in front of Mustang’s cell.

 

“You’re hilarious, Mustang. A true comedic genius,” Ed said drily before turning to the guard. “Mind letting us in?” He asked and the guard didn’t hesitate. “Thank you,” Ed said once the three of them were in the cell with Mustang and the guard had locked the cell once more.

 

“Let me know when you wish to leave, Sir,” the guard said before moving to the usual spot their escorts normally waited for them. Ed didn’t even get the chance to try and convince him to drop the whole ‘sir’ thing.

 

“Seriously, are you alright? Breda and Falman only gave me the details they knew,” Mustang asked, concerned etched in his face. Fuery and Reid shared a look of surprise; Fuery because he wasn’t used to Mustang showing his worry for a subordinate so obviously and Reid because he hadn’t expected Mustang to show his concern in front of them.

 

“I’m fine, Mustang,” Ed said, flapping his automail hand dismissively. “Doc Evans has banned me from missions for a month, at least, though,” Ed told him.

 

“Edward, I wasn’t asking when you’d be mission ready and you know it,” Mustang said, tone telling Ed he was truly worried about him and didn’t appreciate Ed’s attempt to deflect.

 

“Ugh, fine,” Ed muttered as he shifted his weight fully onto his left leg, wincing minutely as he felt the pain that came from his calf muscle relaxing and making him all-too aware of the sewn-up gash on it. Mustang noticed and his worry increased. “I got a decent amount of bruises, a fairly deep cut on my calf and above my elbow, three broken ribs, a cut on my abdomen here,” Ed indicated to where that particular wound was, “a gunshot wound through my bicep and a small cut to my neck,” Ed finished telling him and Mustang looked a little stunned.

 

“You got shot?” He asked, sounding slightly faint and Ed nodded.

 

“Yeah, but it’s just a flesh wound and I’m _fine_ ,” Ed emphasised, both to Mustang and in his mind to the Lions, who had just started making their presences well-known once more as they started questioning him again. Mustang noticed his twitch of annoyance and his eyes narrowed since it didn’t seem like it was aimed towards him.

 

“Are the Lions demanding answers again, Ed?” Fuery asked, having noticed Mustang’s look at Ed’s twitch and decided to help his commanding officer figure it out.

 

“The Lions?” Mustang repeated and Ed nodded, both to Fuery and Mustang.

 

“Yeah, the Lions decided to reestablish our connection, rather vocally and painfully, while we were on our way to see you,” Ed told Mustang, who didn’t look overly surprised they’d chosen now to re-open their bond with the blonde.

 

“Did they tell you what they’ve been up to while you’ve been investigating?” Mustang asked, his curiousity getting the better of him and feeling mild disappointment when Ed shook his head.

 

“No, but I imagine I’ll be getting the whole story either tonight or when I get a couple of hours to tell them about everything that’s happened here,” Ed told him and Mustang resigned himself to the fact that he’d just have to wait to hear what the Paladins and Lions had been up to in the past few days.

 

“Good. I’ll admit I’m curious as to what they’ve been up to,” Mustang said before getting the subject back to injuries. “How are Hawkeye and Alphonse?” He asked, taking strength in the fact that the question didn’t make Ed look overly worried.

 

“Al will hopefully be released by tomorrow lunch-time, so long as Doc Evans is still happy with how he’s healing by then,” Ed smiled happily at the idea and the three others in the cell couldn’t help but smile at his happiness and with their own relief. “However, they’re not as certain with Miss Riza,” Ed told him. “She has a broken arm and several other minor injuries but the doctors are worried about her feet. They were badly bruised and really swollen when we got to the hospital but she told me this morning that the doctor who checked on her this morning now thinks the swelling was so severe because she was putting weight on them. They’re certain none of the bones in them are broken but they want to keep her under observation. They’ve said that she’ll be released, at the very earliest, after midday tomorrow,” Ed told him and Mustang sighed in relief at the fact that his captain and friend wasn’t as badly hurt as some of the worst-case scenarios his mind had come up with had him fearing.

 

“I’m glad they’ll both be out soon,” Mustang said honestly, “and I’m glad you’ll be alright as well,” Mustang told Ed, just as sincerely. It was Ed’s turn to look stunned by something Mustang said but the older alchemist changed the subject slightly before anyone could comment on what he’d said. “Breda and Falman told me who was behind everything but they couldn’t tell me about what this meant for the charges against me. I don’t suppose you know?” He asked Ed, who recovered from his slight shock relatively quickly to answer.

 

“I spoke with Grumman once I was released, actually. He told me that Brookes paid him a visit this morning, mainly to arrange some guards for Belmont while she’s recovering in hospital from her own injuries,” Ed told him. “Grumman said that Brookes and his team technically haven’t found any evidence to support Belmont’s claims that she was behind the murders and General Armstrong’s assault but she kept meticulous records from the moment she started planning this whole thing so it shouldn’t be too long before they find what Grumman needs to drop the charges against you and lay them against Belmont instead,” he informed Mustang, “but he also warned that even though he’ll expedite the paperwork to drop the charges the moment he has the cause to do so, it will still likely take 24 hours to go through the channels it needs to before you can be released,” Ed warned Mustang, who nodded, completely unsurprised at the information.

 

“Hopefully it won’t take his team too long to uncover the evidence we need,” Mustang said, shoulders slumping a little in relief. “Do you know what Brookes’ game plan is?” Mustang asked Ed, who immediately gave Mustang an all-too familiar scowl.

 

“Do I look like a member of Brookes’ team?” He asked, annoyance flashing in his eyes. “I’d imagine he’d have to interview Miss Riza and Al, since they were attacked by Belmont, but other than that, I wouldn’t know,” Ed huffed at him. Mustang wanted to grin at the typical Ed behaviour, having not truly realised how worried he was still that his ill-spoken words might have permanently destroyed his and Ed’s relationship until just now.

 

“I had figured you’d have asked him, since you are supposed to be working with him,” Mustang drawled and Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“Yes, because I’ve had numerous opportunities to ask him in between his being at Belmont’s house, doing his job – something that’s a foreign concept to you, I know – and my hospitalisation,” Ed sarcastically said, rolling his eyes. “In case you didn’t realise, your team _can’t_ go back to Belmont’s house to investigate since it would be a massive conflict of interest and those dumbass generals would chuck a tantrum and claim we planted the evidence so Brookes and I haven’t had the chance to chat about how he plans to investigate this,” Ed snarked. Both Fuery and Reid were trying their hardest not to laugh at the exchange going on in front of them and Mustang was still doing his damnedest not to grin at the banter.

 

“Why don’t you tell me about what happened? Did you use what I taught you against her?” Mustang asked, moving the conversation to another subject. Despite his worry about whether his and Ed’s relationship would recover, he still didn’t want to be drawn into an argument with the fiery blonde.

 

“I told them about you teaching me flame alchemy, Mustang,” Ed told him, having noticed his wording. “Had to since I’d be wearing your gloves,” Ed pointed out when Mustang didn’t look overly thrilled at the information. “Also, my bad about one of them,” Ed told him and Mustang released a deep sigh through his nose.

 

“You destroyed one of them, didn’t you?” Mustang asked and Ed shrugged innocently.

 

“I needed to use my blade to stop that psycho from stabbing me, so, yeah, one of your gloves was destroyed,” Ed told him. “I wonder if I could manipulate one of my sets of gloves into being a pair of ignition gloves. Although, the array would have to be moved so the blade didn’t cut through it,” Ed mused out loud and Mustang recognised the signs that they would soon lose him to his thoughts if they didn’t pull him from them.

 

“Ed? You were telling Mustang about using flame alchemy?” Reid had obviously noticed the signs as well and Ed blinked at him.

 

“Oh, yeah,” Ed said as he shook himself mentally. “She wasn’t impressed that I knew flame alchemy,” Ed told him, lips twisting into a wry smirk. “In fact, she was so pissed off about it, she didn’t use the opportunity I accidentally gave her to escape. She decided to actually come back and restart our fight,” Ed told Mustang, who looked a little surprised at that admission.

 

“Alright, I think you should start at the beginning,” Mustang said, sitting on the edge of his cot. “How, exactly, did you give her an opportunity to escape and why?” Mustang asked and Ed scowled in annoyance once more.

 

“It’s not like I did on purpose!” Ed pointed out once more, this time a little defensively. Mustang raised an eyebrow and the five Lions were now making their demands to know this story in more detail than they’d been given before known. “Fine,” Ed sighed, both to Mustang and the Lions, “so, we uncovered Belmont’s name in Miss Riza’s journals, Chambers notebooks and the list of soldiers who were promoted to major that was given to us by Grumman…” 

* * *

 

“Alright, Captain Hawkeye, I’m all done with your check-up. How are you feeling?” Hawkeye’s doctor asked as he stood beside her bedside.

 

“I feel fine, Doctor Allen,” Hawkeye told him honestly. Her body ached from the bruises that littered it and her arm throbbed dully but she knew that was to be expected until she got used to the cast. Her feet ached fiercely but she could wriggle her toes with minimal pain and the remaining swelling had practically gone in between doctor visits. She hadn’t been asked to put weight on her feet yet but she knew she would be soon.

 

“I’m glad to hear that. Is your arm still causing you discomfort?” Allen asked and Hawkeye shook her head.

 

“No more than it has been,” she told him and Allen seemed pleased with her answer.

 

“I’ll order some painkillers for you but I imagine that discomfort will be gone shortly,” Allen told her and Hawkeye simply nodded in answer. “There’s a Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes waiting to speak with you as well,” Allen informed her. “Should I send him in?” He asked, completely willing to send him away if she asked him to.

 

“I’ll speak with him. Thank you, Doctor Allen,” Hawkeye said and Allen nodded before heading to the door and opening it.

 

“You have fifteen minutes to speak with her,” Allen informed Brookes, who had apparently been standing near the door as he managed to be standing in front of the doctor within a few moments.

 

“Of course,” Brookes nodded. “Thank you, doctor,” Brookes said as he stepped out of Hawkeye’s sight in order to let Allen move through the doorway before he stepped through himself. “Good afternoon, Captain Hawkeye. I hope you’re recovering well?” Brookes asked once the door was shut behind him.

 

“Good afternoon, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes. I’m recovering nicely, according to Doctor Allen,” Hawkeye told him, dropping her hand from the salute that Brookes had waved her out of.

 

“I’m happy to hear that, captain,” he told her honestly, giving her a pleased smile before moving onto the reason they both knew he was here for. “I’ve already spoken with Alphonse about what happened before your encounter with Belmont and if you’re happy to, I’m willing to simply have you read over his statement once it’s typed up and sign it if you agree with what he said,” Brookes offered.

 

“I’m amiable to that,” Hawkeye told him and Brookes nodded, making a notation in his notepad.

 

“I’ll hopefully have it written up tomorrow,” Brookes told her before gesturing to the vacant chair next to her bed. “May I sit?” He asked and Hawkeye nodded.

 

“Of course,” she said agreeably and Brookes sat down gratefully.

 

“Thank you,” he said before flipping a page of his notepad over so he now had a blank page to work with. “Would you please walk me through everything that happened from the moment Belmont made you walk out of that alleyway?” Brookes asked, pen at the ready.

 

“After I realised one of Belmont’s reasons for framing General Mustang and attacking myself and Alphonse was to get the secrets of flame alchemy, I used checking on Alphonse as an excuse to give him the pair of General Mustang’s gloves I had been habitually carrying so Belmont wouldn’t find them,” Hawkeye told him. Brookes didn’t write all of that down, merely noting her reasoning for giving Alphonse the gloves as Alphonse had only been able to guess her reasons. “I used the time it took for Belmont to recover from Alphonse’s attack to do this but she soon had her gun trained on me and ordered me to move away from Alphonse and out of the alley. She led me to her car, which she had parked some distance away from the alley and forced me inside before following me in and soon she was driving me towards the house where she planned to hold me. We drove for nearly thirty minutes before we pulled into the driveway of that house,” Hawkeye told him, keeping her face neutral. “I’m fairly certain I saw one of Madame Christmas’ girls, Annie, while we were driving,” Hawkeye remembered and Brookes nodded.

 

“Alphonse told me that Edward had mentioned that Rossi and Falman had been sent to talk with her after Edward left the hospital once Alphonse had woken up,” Brookes told Hawkeye when she looked mildly surprised at the fact that he wasn’t surprised at the mention of Annie.

 

“Ah,” Hawkeye said simply before moving on. “After we arrived at the house, Belmont forced me out of the car once more at gunpoint and led me through the front entrance and down to the basement where she’d already had a chair and rope set up to secure me with,” Hawkeye told him. “She ordered me to take off my jacket so she could make certain I had no knives or other weapons that could help me escape or fight back before forcing me to sit on the chair and secured my wrists behind me. Once she’d tied my hands back, she used the rest of the ropes to ensure there was no way I could escape before she removed my socks and shoes. I believe she did that so I would be less inclined to leave the basement, if I did manage to escape the ropes,” Hawkeye informed him.

 

“Did you know where you were being kept?” Brookes asked.

 

“I knew the area I was in but not the specific address. I couldn’t have even told you the street I was being held on,” Hawkeye told him and Brookes nodded before moving the conversation along.

 

“What did Belmont ask you?” Brookes questioned.

 

“She mainly wanted to know where my father’s research was and refused to believe me when I told her that my father destroyed all of his notes before he passed away. She was adamant in her delusion that I or General Mustang were hiding the notes in a secure location, purposefully hiding them from her. She did not appreciate it when I pointed out that until that night, I had no clue who she was and that it was unlikely that the general knew of her existence either,” Hawkeye said drily. “She was absolutely convinced that the notes still existed and that, as his daughter, I would know where my father hid them. When I continued telling her that the notes had been destroyed, she used more,” Hawkeye paused for a moment, apparently contemplating her word choice, “ _persuasive_ means to convince me to tell her a location.” Brookes internally winced, knowing what he’d have to ask now.

 

“What means are you referring to, Captain Hawkeye?” He may need to know for the official record but Brookes had never liked asking people to be specific about how they were tortured or hurt.

 

“To start with, she used her fists, aiming mainly to my abdomen but striking my face as well,” Hawkeye told him, “but after using that method a dozen or so times, she either realised it wasn’t working or was worried I’d develop internal bleeding and would not be in a fit state to tell her what she wanted to hear if she continued using that technique so she moved onto her knives,” Hawkeye informed him and Brookes couldn’t stop his glance at the cuts that littered Hawkeye’s arms and torso, though they were covered with bandages so he couldn’t actually see them. “For every time I responded to her demands to know where my father’s research was with the truth, she cut me. Thankfully, she only cut me enough to inflict pain so most of them will heal with no scars or complications,” Hawkeye told him reassuringly when she noticed his aghast expression.

 

“She did this for roughly two hours before storming out of the basement when I never changed my answer. I don’t know if she ever believed I was telling the truth about the fate of my father’s research but she came back to the basement about three hours later, demanding I tell her the secrets of flame alchemy myself,” Hawkeye informed him.

 

“But you’re not an alchemist. Why would she expect your father to have told you the secrets?” Brookes asked, confused. His uncle had been an alchemist but two of his uncle’s children hadn’t been and neither of them would have been able to tell someone anything more than the basics of alchemy that every non-alchemist and alchemist already knew.

 

“I’m not certain but she might be under the impression that since my father invented flame alchemy and my boss uses it, I know the secrets to it,” Hawkeye shrugged a little. “When I told her I didn’t know anything, she started beating me again to try and get any information she thought I was hiding out of me. That’s when she injured my feet. She used a bit of plastic pipe to inflict those injuries,” Hawkeye divulged and Brookes felt his stomach twist a little at the thought. “That interrogation lasted another two or so hours, I believe, before she left the basement again.” Brookes wrote this information down as he allowed Hawkeye a moment to gather herself.

 

“When she came back down to the basement an hour or so later, she changed tactics,” Hawkeye continued talking. “She tried to bargain with me in order to get me to tell her what she thought I knew. She promised to let me go, she promised to show me how flame alchemy should be used, she promised she would never use it to harm someone like General Mustang had,” Hawkeye listed and Brookes furiously scribbled. “She even promised to confess to the crimes she framed General Mustang for, once she had the secrets to flame alchemy and was out of Amestris’ jurisdiction so she couldn’t be arrested for them,” Hawkeye revealed and Brookes looked up in disbelief. “When she realised bargaining wasn’t working either, she tried threatening me and my teammates if I didn’t cooperate.” For the first time since she started speaking of her ordeal, Hawkeye showed more than her usual passive mask.

 

“She threatened to kidnap Edward and Alphonse and hurt them in front of me until I told her how to use flame alchemy. She fired shots at me, making sure each bullet barely missed me. She ended up breaking my arm when she twisted it up further behind my back. She then threatened to shoot a member of my team if I didn’t give her the secrets and disappearing for a couple of hours, trying to make me believe she had left to make good on her threat,” Hawkeye said, still angry at the lengths Belmont had gone to try and wheedle information Hawkeye didn’t have out of her.

 

“If I may ask, why didn’t you believe she had done so?” Brookes questioned and Hawkeye scoffed.

 

“I heard her close the basement and front doors but I never heard her walking towards her car nor her car actually start and leave the driveway so I knew she’d either pretended or had left on foot and she hadn’t been gone long enough for me to believe she’d been on foot,” Hawkeye said and Brookes nodded, allowing her to continue. “When she figured out that I hadn’t believed her, she tried more threats but she soon concluded that it wasn’t going to work so she gagged me before leaving again. This time, though, she didn’t come back down to the basement for hours,” Hawkeye said.

 

“Roughly how long would you say?” Brookes asked and Hawkeye thought for a moment.

 

“I would say at least eight hours,” Hawkeye told him. “She left me in the basement for eight hours or so but she never left the house. I could hear her walking around upstairs and even her muttering when she stood on the other side of the basement door. I think her goal was to try and use my isolation against me, to try and use the silence and the inability to correctly guess how much time had passed to try and unbalance me because after the eight or so hours of her not coming into the basement, when she next appeared and removed the gag, she tried to tell me that it had been well over two days since I’d been taken and that the team was no closer to identifying her,” Hawkeye said. “I honestly might have believed her except sunlight had been shining through the gap of the basement door that we left the room through and I knew it had only been one day since I’d been bound in the basement.” Brookes had to commend her for being so clear-thinking despite everything Belmont had put her through.

 

“What happened after that?” Brookes asked and Hawkeye sighed a little.

 

“She became frustrated again and gave me a black eye before leaving once more,” Hawkeye said, using her right arm to gesture to her face. “I was left alone for a couple of hours before she came back down to the basement to inform me that if I didn’t tell her what she wanted by morning, she would be raiding my apartment and wouldn’t hesitate to kill the woman staying there. I believe she was talking about my best friend, Rebecca, but I didn’t get the chance to ask because she gagged me again so I wouldn’t be able to make any noises while she was upstairs,” Hawkeye told him and Brookes wrote that down before looking up at her once more.

 

“What happened after that?” Brookes prodded gently.

 

“After another two or so hours, the door opened again but this time Edward, my team and you were the ones to come through the door,” Hawkeye told him and Brookes nodded, made a note and relaxed a little.

 

“Is there anything else you can tell me about what she said? Anything she said about any crimes she claimed to have committed?” Brookes asked and Hawkeye cast her mind back.

 

“She told me about how she was so worried for several days after she killed Chambers because she thought she had ruined her whole plan before it could be put into effect. She claimed that Chambers wasn’t part of the plan; that she had only killed him because she was so angry at General Mustang being promoted when he didn’t deserve it that she lashed out at the first person she disliked that she came across,” Hawkeye divulged and Brookes started scribbling madly.

 

“Belmont said she used the bottle of accelerant she had decided to start carrying around so it wouldn’t look unusual for her to be carrying a water bottle when she decided to start killing her chosen victims but that Chambers had struggled and managed to damage her uniform by ripping off a button before she could knock him out with a bit of pipe that had been laying on the ground and that she’d kept that weapon to use on her chosen victims because she hadn’t taken into consideration that they likely fight back,” Hawkeye recalled. “Unfortunately, she only told me about things we already knew regarding the other crimes though she did reveal how easy it was to trick Bryce into the alley with promises of sex and that she had to change her method of luring victims into the alley for Henley completely,” Hawkeye told Brookes, who looked happy about that information.

 

“That’s really helpful, Captain Hawkeye. Neither bits of information you just gave me have been made public knowledge so that will help us prove it was truly her behind the murders and assault,” Brookes said happily. “Of course, we can’t use this information by itself so we still have to wait for my team to uncover evidence in the house – which they’re close to doing so don’t worry – before I can present it to Fuhrer Grumman so Generals Widdon and Combes can’t claim that you made the information up in an effort to free General Mustang,” Brookes told her and Hawkeye nodded her understanding. “Is there anything else you can remember that would help further?” Brookes asked.

 

“No, that is everything I can recall that would be helpful,” Hawkeye told him and Brookes looked like he’d expected that answer.

 

“In that case, I should be heading back to my team and assisting them with sorting through everything,” Brookes said as he stood up from the chair he was sitting in and putting his notepad away. “Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Captain Hawkeye, and I wish you a speedy recovery,” Brookes smiled as he stepped around the chair.

 

“You’re welcome, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes,” Hawkeye said. “Good luck with your investigation, Sir,” Hawkeye said, offering him a salute that Brookes waved her out of as quickly as he’d done so before.

 

“Thank you, Captain Hawkeye,” Brookes said, dipping his head before leaving the hospital room, closing the door softly behind him and leaving Hawkeye to her own devices once more. Brookes nodded to the doctor who had allowed him into Hawkeye’s hospital room before making his way towards the front entrance of the hospital. He was eager to get back to his team as they had been reading the entries in Belmont’s notebooks that were dated mere days before Captain Bryce was discovered murdered when he left to interview Hawkeye and Alphonse.


	24. Chapter 24

“How are you lot going with your reports?” Ed asked, stretching as much as he could in his chair. It was about mid-morning the day after Ed was released from hospital and had his bond with the Lions re-established.

 

He didn’t sleep for long last night, having decided against going to the hospital or Gracia’s house when the others called it a night, and moved so he was sprawled on one of the couches in the inner office and planned to nap there. He stayed up until the wee hours of the morning catching up with the Lions and their Paladins.

 

He was regaled with numerous stories from all of the Paladins about what they had been up to during the near-week he hadn’t been able to talk to them. The main-story teller had been Lance but Pidge and Hunk had been very close seconds. Keith and Shiro had – through Black and Red – shared some stories with Ed as well but the Garrison Trio had been the main storytellers.

 

In return, Ed had given the Lions and the Paladins the detailed version of events that had happened since he’d cut contact with them, rather than leaving them with the version he’d given them earlier. They’d already known about everything up until Mustang’s arrest and Ed’s accompaniment of Elysia and Gracia to Resembool but Ed had recapped that for them so they’d get the entire story.

 

As Ed had expected, everyone had been angry at the fact that the military still had generals as obviously corrupt as Widdon and Combes and that they’d not only tried to use their position in the military to have Mustang arrested, out on trial and likely killed, but they’d also neglected to look beyond Mustang as a suspect and were willing to let the real murderer go free just to get rid of Mustang. When Blue reported that Lance, Hunk and Pidge were nearly on the floor in laughter at the times Ed snarked at the generals, Ed could almost hear their laughter and felt a grin of his own form on his face.

 

Shiro had – through Black – told Ed how proud he was of the blonde for not giving up, despite his doubts at the start and Ed felt himself flush, even as he tried to deny it. The flush darkened spectacularly when the rest of the Lions passed on their own Paladin’s praise and added their own to it. Ed knew the Lions were telling the Paladins what his reaction was but he was just glad they were the only witnesses to his dark red cheeks. He knew Morgan and Havoc, at the very least, would tease him mercilessly if they knew about this.

 

By the time they’d caught up completely and spent a couple extra hours just talking before Shiro ordered the Paladins to bed so they could get some rest – banning Ed at the same time from trying to use the individual Lion connection with their Paladin to continue any kind of conversation – and tried to encourage Ed to get some sleep as well before turning in himself, Ed was no longer tired. Since he couldn’t get to sleep, Ed figured the best way to waste the next few hours before the others were likely to report for duty would be to get his report done and ready for Fuhrer Grumman.

 

Despite what Mustang liked to tell everyone else, Ed knew how to write a report properly and turn it in on time. He just enjoyed fucking with Mustang too much to do it for him. But this did mean he finished his final report for the Fuhrer an hour or so before the BAU or his team were due to arrive in the office so he retreated back to the inner office and had a catnap until he was awoken by the outer office door being opened.

 

He left the inner office to find Falman settling at his desk. If the older man was surprised to see Ed there, he didn’t show it; instead he just offered a ‘good morning’ that Ed returned and started organising his workspace for the day. Fifteen minutes later, the soldier assigned to bring them their paperwork for the day showed up and Falman sorted it out into piles for everyone, including Ed, and placing it on their desks.

 

Thanks to the help Hawkeye had given him every morning since Mustang was arrested – with the obvious exceptions being the mornings she was either being held by Belmont or in hospital – Ed was able to get most of his paperwork done without many problems. Much to his relief, Falman proved to be equally as good with paperwork as Hawkeye when it came to a couple of files Ed didn’t know anything about. While Ed and Falman were working on their paperwork, the others trickled into the office, with Fuery and the BAU being the last to arrive and started on their own paperwork.

 

Hotch had to write his main report while the other BAU agents only needed to turn in a summary of what they heard and saw from the moment Ed gave them orders until the moment they all converged on the basement door so it didn’t take the five of them long to complete at all. Ed had asked Mustang’s team to work on their reports first, unless there was extremely important paperwork in their piles to be completed, so that he would be able to take them up to Grumman’s office as soon as he possibly could.

 

“Nearly done, chief,” Havoc told him cheerfully. Fuery, Breda, Falman and Hotch made similar statements while the other BAU agents told him they were finished and just waiting on Hotch’s report so they could read it over and sign it.

 

“Alright. What do you lot want for breakfast? I’ll go grab some food and coffee while you keep writing,” Ed said, getting to his feet and stretching once more, wincing as he stretched a little too much and felt his broken ribs pull painfully as well as the stitches on his abdomen.

 

“You’re the best, chief,” Havoc told him seriously and Ed rolled his eyes at him, though the effect of the eyeroll was lost with the amused grin on his face.

 

“I’m aware. Now, give me food orders,” Ed demanded. Once he had them, he turned to the BAU agents who were done with their reports. “Who wants to come with and carry stuff back?” Ed asked and Morgan, Rossi and Prentiss immediately stood up. “Awesome. We’ll be back in like an hour or so,” Ed told the others, who nodded in acknowledgment before getting back to their paperwork. The four of them left the office, with Ed leading them back towards the main gate so he could head to the restaurant that everyone had agreed on.

 

“Did you sleep at all last night, Ed?” Rossi asked once they were through the main gates, Ed nodding to the guards stationed there.

 

“Uh, I think I got like an hour, maybe?” Ed told him with a shrug. “I got plenty of sleep in the hospital so it’s fine,” Ed assured the agent before he could raise a protest, since it certainly looked like the older man might very well do that. The Lions weren’t impressed with his lack of sleep but their efforts to get him to sleep rather than do his report had been in vain so they didn’t say anything, though Ed could still feel their annoyance at having been ignored.

 

“As long as you get some sleep tonight,” Rossi said, worry still in his voice.

 

“I’m sure Alphonse will make me go back to Miss Gracia’s home to have a shower and sleep in an actual bed once he’s released from the hospital,” Ed assured him with a small laugh. He felt a prod from several of the Lions. “The Lions will also be trying to force me to sleep,” Ed tacked on.

 

“At least some of you have some common sense,” Rossi muttered, loud enough for Ed to catch it and cause Morgan and Prentiss to laugh at the blonde’s indignant protest before the two younger agents started teasing the young alchemist good-naturedly and soon enough, the three of them were bantering with a very amused Rossi as a silent witness. 

* * *

 

“Get your food before I eat it all,” Ed said as he dumped the bag of breakfast food on the desk once he, Rossi, Prentiss and Morgan walked through the door.

 

Morgan had been delegated to carrying the coffee, which was a much more delicate process since he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to know what Edward or the other Amestrians were like without some form of caffeine in their system. As had happened every time someone deposited coffee onto the desk, it was claimed within moments. Morgan grabbed his food and his coffee before sitting back at his spot, Prentiss following suit while Rossi handed over JJ and Reid’s coffee and food to them since they were in the middle of doing something.

 

“Hey, boy wonder, what are you and JJ up to over there?” Morgan asked once the two of them had accepted the food and caffeine from Rossi.

 

“Oh, we decided that since we’ve finished our reports and don’t really have anything else to do, that we’d sort the case files out for Ed and the team,” Reid told him, getting Ed’s attention immediately.

 

“You guys don’t have to do that, you know? We can sort it out ourselves later,” Ed said, frowning as though he was concerned that they didn’t know that. Both Reid and JJ gave him a smile.

 

“We know, Ed, but like Spence said; we don’t really have anything else to do and we figured that we’d just help out,” JJ told him before taking a sip of her coffee. Ed still didn’t look overly happy with the fact that the two of them were undertaking the mammoth task by themselves but before he could offer to help, Fuery got his attention.

 

“I’ve finished my report, Ed,” Fuery told him, handing the papers over.

 

“Thanks, Fuery,” Ed said with a smile as he accepted the papers and placed them on top of his own report.

 

“Here you go, chief,” Havoc said only a moment later and within the next five minutes, Ed had the reports from his entire team stacked on his desk.

 

“Thanks, guys,” Ed said once he accepted the report from Falman.

 

“I’m finished as well,” Hotch announced. “I just need my team to read it over and sign it now,” Hotch said, giving his team a pointed look.

 

Reid was the first one to read his boss’ report and signed it within a minute of having it in his hands. Morgan didn’t even bother reading it, trusting that Reid would’ve pointed out any discrepancies before he added his signature so Morgan just signed it straight away. Rossi, Prentiss and JJ did read it over but they obviously decided to simply skim the pages, the combination of knowing Hotch’s reports were always correct and that Reid hadn’t picked up any mistakes allowing them to feel comfortable with not giving it a thorough read-through.

 

“There you go, Ed,” Rossi said, handing the report over, now complete with all six BAU agents’ signatures on it.

 

“Thanks, everyone. I’ll take these straight up to Grumman then I’ll come back and help you guys clear up the case files. We’ll probably have to return them to Brookes and Granger today, with the evidence we collected, so that they have them for their records,” Ed grumbled a bit.

 

“Your team won’t take credit for solving the two cases?” Hotch asked, sounding not at all surprised.

 

“Well, no,” Ed said, a little confused that he was even being asked. “Brookes made the arrest and both he and Granger _did_ do all the leg work that made finding out Belmont’s identity that much easier,” he said as he gathered all the reports a little awkwardly in his automail arm. He could feel the Lions worry about how he was going to managed carrying everything without hurting himself further. “So, Mustang’s team and I will sign off as assisting in the two investigations but that’s it,” Ed told them resolutely, fighting down the flush that threatened when he felt the Lions worry turn into  pride in his answer through their bond.

 

“Are you alright with all of that, Ed?” Prentiss asked, nodding to the reports in Ed’s arms, worry in her eyes at the thought of Ed taking them to Grumman by himself and down an arm.

 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Ed smiled at her, shrugging the papers further up into his arm but Prentiss – and several of the others – didn’t look overly convinced.

 

“Why don’t you take someone with you to help you out?” Hotch suggested and Ed frowned.

 

“I don’t need any help though,” Ed told him, a touch petulantly and Hotch gave his slinged arm an extremely pointed look. Ed scowled before giving Breda a look. “Breda, you can come with me,” Ed said decisively. Havoc looked a little put-out that he wasn’t leaving the office. “Havoc’s in charge unless Miss Riza turns up before I do,” Ed said as Breda took the reports from him and Havoc looked a lot happier.

 

“Have fun with Fuhrer Grumman,” Fuery said, giving Ed a genuine smile that Ed returned.

 

“We will,” Ed said. “Especially if the two idiot generals are there,” Ed added as his grin turned a little too mischievous to be mistaken for anything other than hoping for trouble. It didn’t help his self-control when he could feel Red’s own hope that Widdon and Combes would turn up and her willingness to offer trouble-making advice.

 

“At least _try_ and stay out trouble? Please?” JJ asked, not overly hopeful she’d be listened too and sure enough, Ed merely gave her a wink before he disappeared through the door with Breda. 

* * *

 

“Good morning, Miss Samantha,” Ed greeted as he walked into the Fuhrer’s outer office and spotted his secretary. Samantha looked up, a small amount of surprise on her face as she registered who had just walked into the office.

 

“Good morning, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, Lieutenant Breda,” Samantha greeted as they approached the desk. “How are you healing, Edward?” Samantha asked, dropping the use of his rank at the look he gave her.

 

“I’m doing fine,” Ed assured her before deciding he should probably get to why they were standing in the Fuhrer’s outer office. “Is Fuhrer Grumman in? I just have our reports to drop off,” Ed said, indicating to the papers in Breda’s arms.

 

“Let me just call him and make sure he isn’t busy,” Samantha gave him a smile before picking up the phone and dialling the number needed. “Fuhrer Grumman, my apologies for interrupting you. Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and Lieutenant Breda are here with the requested reports. Would you like me to permit them?” There was a pause as Samantha listened to the reply. “Very well, Your Excellency,” Samantha said before hanging up the phone and standing from her chair. “Fuhrer Grumman will see you now,” Samantha said, giving Ed and Breda a smile as she led them to the door.

 

“Thank you, Miss Samantha,” Ed said with a smile of his own as he and Breda walked through the door. He heard Breda thank Samantha as well but all Ed was focusing on in that moment was the mild disappointment that Widdon and Combes weren’t in the office. The Lions seemed to be equally disappointed but he shook off the feeling when he heard Samantha closing the door as she returned to her desk. “Good morning, Fuhrer Grumman,” Ed said as he saluted. Breda followed suit, once he moved the reports so he could hold them in one arm without dropping the papers everywhere.

 

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Grumman greeted, waving them out of their salutes. “I take it there were no issues writing up the reports?” Grumman asked as Breda handed the papers over at Grumman’s gesture.

 

“No, Sir,” Ed told him. “You’ll find Agent Hotchner’s report with signatures from the rest of his team and a small report from each of them as well,” Ed told him. Grumman raised a questioning brow at that since he’d only been expecting the report from Hotch. “A couple of the BAU agents looked far too smug about the fact they didn’t have to write a report so Hotch suggested they wrote a summary of what they saw and heard,” Ed told him, the corner of his lip twitching as he held back a smirk.

 

“Good idea,” Grumman said, not bothering to suppress all of his amusement. “Have you heard from the hospital today?” Grumman asked, changing topics as he left the paperwork alone for the moment.

 

“No, not today. I planned on heading over there at lunchtime to see whether they would be released or not today,” Ed told him and Grumman nodded.

 

“I’ve been meaning to call the hospital for the last hour but I’m afraid my paperwork got the best of me and I simply haven’t had the chance to call myself or even remember to ask Samantha to call for me,” Grumman scowled minutely at himself.

 

“If you’d like, I’d be happy to call Samantha with an update when I talk to Docs Evans and Allen?” Ed offered and Grumman gave him a grateful smile.

 

“I would certainly appreciate that,” Grumman told him. Suddenly, Grumman’s expression turned to one of sudden remembrance. “Before I forget, I heard from Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes this morning,” Grumman told them and both Ed and Breda stood a little more at attention. “He told me that he would be stopping by as soon as he arrives back at the base. He and his team have sorted through enough of the evidence at former Major Belmont’s home for him to be able to spend a few hours away from them to deal with any matters here at Central Command,” Grumman said and both Ed and Breda exchanged excited looks.

 

Before either man could say anything in response to Grumman, there was a commotion outside the office doors. They heard Samantha’s raised voice and the muffled but demanding tones of at least two people through the thick wooden doors. Ed immediately moved into his fighting stance – or the best fighting stance he could take up what with one arm in a sling – before he raised his automail arm up to his left hand and alchemised his blade into existence and he felt the Lions’ tense through their bond. Breda stood in a protective stance so he was covering both Grumman and Ed, one hand resting on his still-holstered weapon, ready to draw and fire at a moment’s notice, if needed. Grumman rose immediately from his desk and mimicked Breda’s stance while all three watched the door intently. Only a couple of moments later did the people belonging to the raised voices burst through the doors, an extremely irate Samantha hot on their heels.

 

“General Widdon, General Combes, the two of you had better have an extraordinarily amazing reason to have entered my office the way you just did,” Grumman’s tone was one of controlled anger and even Ed was a little bit scared of his tone.

 

A touch from Ed on his shoulder had Breda moving out of his protective stance while Ed clapped and retracted his automail blade. Breda moved a couple of steps backwards and stood flush next to Ed, barely leaving any distance between the blonde and himself as the red-head scowled at the generals. The Lions were both annoyed and happy with the intrusion. They had really wanted to witness a confrontation between Ed and the two of them. That’s when the three of them noticed that Brookes was with the two generals, though he looked as impressed with their behaviour as they were. Samantha looked ready to bite their heads off and it was likely that the only reason she hadn’t done so was because Grumman was standing there.

 

“I apologise, Fuhrer Grumman, but Generals Widdon and Combes refused to listen to me and wait for you to be finished with your meeting,” Samantha said, her voice forcibly polite, though shaking with anger.

 

“You have nothing to apologise for, Samantha,” Grumman assured her and made a mental note to buy her something to thank her for trying to deal with them herself. “You may return to your desk,” Grumman said and Samantha nodded curtly, shooting a withering glare at the two generals before turning smartly on her heel and closing the door behind her with a soft click.

 

“I believe it was you, General Widdon, who informed me that my behaviour was that of an ill-mannered child when I interrupted your meeting with Fuhrer Grumman a few days ago,” Ed said, voice just this side of scathing. Ed felt Red’s approval and mentally chuckled at the Lion.

 

“It was, indeed. That is why you had better have an astoundingly good excuse for your behaviour,” Grumman repeated, reminding the generals that they had yet to answer his first request for a reason. Brookes, in the meantime, had put a definite distance between himself and the generals, standing only a few steps away from Ed and Breda.

 

“We apologise for our abrupt entry, Your Excellency, but this matter is urgent,” Widdon said, completely ignoring Ed’s earlier comment, though Combes was glaring at the blonde, who was applying a massive amount of self-control to stop himself flipping the general off. The fact that Red and Blue were trying to convince him to, didn’t help his struggle.

 

“Would you like an engraved invitation to share that urgent matter with us, General Widdon?” Grumman asked, not bothering to try and mask his own scathing tone, when Widdon wasn’t immediately forthcoming with his reason. Ed wasn’t quick enough to be able to disguise his choked laughter from Grumman’s questions and the roaring approval Grumman had just unknowingly received from the Lions as a cough effectively and ended up on the receiving end of two glares from the generals.

 

“Perhaps it would be prudent to discuss this matter privately, Fuhrer Grumman. I believe Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and Lieutenant Breda will not react well to this news,” Widdon didn’t bother hiding his smug smirk that he directed at Ed and Breda. Ed kept his expression smooth though his heart thumped wildly. Had something happened to Mustang while they were this close to getting him out?

 

“General Widdon, _you_ were the one to barge in on Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s meeting with me. He has every right to know why,” Grumman told him. His tone left absolutely no room for argument but that didn’t stop the generals from trying.

 

“That didn’t stop you from asking us to leave when Elric decided to barge into our meeting with you,” Combes pointed out and Grumman raised a brow at the petulant tone.

 

 _“Child,”_ Red scoffed in Ed’s mind and Ed managed to play his snort off as a cough this time.

 

“I believe you have forgotten whose office you’re standing in exactly,” Grumman snapped. “Either tell me why you barged in here as rudely as you did or get out and schedule an appointment with my secretary since the matter is obviously not as urgent as your entrance and claims lead us to believe if you can stand there and argue about who should be in _my_ office right now.” Both Widdon and Combes shrunk back a little at the finality in Grumman’s tone.

 

 _“I like him,”_ Black said decisively and Ed wasn’t surprised.

 

“We apologise, Fuhrer Grumman,” Widdon said, sounding not at all apologetic, merely upset that he hadn’t gotten his way. “We’ve heard that former Major Belmont was arrested for the kidnapping of Captain Hawkeye and murder of Lieutenant-Colonel Chambers –“

 

“And the assault of my brother,” Ed snapped but Widdon spoke over him as though he hadn’t heard the blonde.

 

“- but we’ve also heard rumours that Belmont is to be charged with the crimes former General Mustang has been charged with and that you will be ordering his release and reinstatement into the military shortly,” Widdon said. Combes was standing next to Widdon like an overzealous bulldog but he was so tense as he waited to hear Grumman’s response that Ed thought a sharp poke with something would have the moustached man explode. Ed was half-tempted to try.

 

“That’s truly fascinating, General Widdon, but I fail to see what that has to do with you being here in this moment,” Grumman said, finally sitting back in his chair and leaning back in it to look at the two generals expectantly. Widdon’s eye twitched in annoyance but he didn’t dare snap at the Fuhrer.

 

“General Combes and I would like to know if it’s true, Sir,” Widdon said. Grumman contemplated the response for a few moments.

 

“If evidence is brought to light proving that former Major Belmont was the true mastermind behind the crimes that former General Mustang has been arrested for then yes, he will be released and reinstated to the military while she is charged with the murders and the assault he was,” Grumman eventually said. Neither of the generals looked happy with the answer. “Now, if the only reason behind your appalling behaviour was to have me confirm some rumours, I will be most displeased,” Grumman said warningly.

 

“Of course not, Sir,” Widdon said. “The true reason behind us being here is to warn you to not buy into the lies that Lieutenant-Colonel Elric will try and sell you in his and his team’s desperate attempts to try and free their commanding officer,” Widdon said. Ed wasn’t sure whether he was holding Breda back or if Breda was holding him from reacting at first but when Ed caught sight of Combes’ gloating grin, it was definitely Breda holding him back.

 

 _“Edward, you won’t get anywhere if you strike him. You know he’s lying and you need to trust that your Fuhrer knows that as well,”_ Blue said soothingly. Her sisters did their best to help her calm Ed down enough that he wouldn’t knock a general out.

 

“You see, Fuhrer Grumman?” Widdon suddenly gloated, looking victoriously at Ed. “He knows he has been caught out and is trying to stop us from telling you about his lies,” Widdon claimed and it took everything in Ed to not snarl at the man.

 

“What proof do you have to back up your claims of Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s deception?” Grumman asked, voice sounding mildly curious.

 

“We received an anonymous tip that Lieutenant-Colonel Elric fabricated the piece of evidence that led Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes to consider former Major Belmont the so-called ‘mastermind’ behind the crimes committed by former General Mustang. The tip claimed that it was Elric or one of his team who fabricated this evidence,” Widdon told Grumman gleefully. Ed and Breda collectively rolled their eyes and Ed felt the Lions doing the same through their bond.

 

“Which piece of evidence?” Grumman asked and that seemed to cause Widdon some slight hesitation.

 

“The piece of evidence naming Belmont as the person behind the crimes Mustang has been charged with, Sir,” Widdon repeated and Grumman’s eyes narrowed.

 

“You said that but _which_ piece of evidence?” Grumman asked once more but cut off any answer before it could be voiced. “Because from what I understand from Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s report and from what Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes has told me himself, there were at least three sources that led Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, his team and the consultant team to identify former Major Belmont as the person behind the murder of Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Chambers, assault and kidnap of Captain Riza Hawkeye and the assault of Alphonse Elric,” Grumman told them before cutting Widdon and Combes off once more, “and from what I understood from my talk with Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes just this morning, former Major Belmont is _not_ considered a suspect in the murders of Captain Bryce, Major Pardi, Colonel Summers, Generals Henley or Andrews nor is she considered a suspect in the assault of General Armstrong. Is that correct, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes?” Grumman asked.

 

“Yes, Fuhrer Grumman. At the time of my talk with you this morning, former Major Belmont wasn’t considered involved in those crimes,” Brookes told them, keeping his gaze firmly on Grumman and ignoring the very unfriendly looks he was getting from Widdon and Combes.

 

“Well?” Grumman asked the generals, raising a judgemental brow at them both. Combes shot Ed a nasty look that had the blonde confused for a moment. He hadn’t done anything in the last couple of minutes to warrant that look. He could feel the Lions own apprehension and worry for his safety.

 

“We believe that Alphonse Elric provided a false witness statement in such that he chose a random military officer not connected to former General Mustang’s team and described her to Major Armstrong in an attempt to help his brother in his desperate attempt to free former General Mustang.” You could practically hear the jaws drop of nearly everybody in the room after Widdon’s claim.

 

“Excuse me, you overly pretentious bag of –?“ Ed snapped as Breda held onto his automail arm with a very tight grip to stop him from moving forward. Ed could hear the Lions roaring insults in his mind at the generals but he was interrupted just as he was about to repeat some of their very creative insults by Grumman holding his hand up for silence. Ed obeyed it but he let out a snarl when Widdon and Combes looked triumphant.

 

“You see how he reacts, Fuhrer Grumman? Clearly, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric hadn’t expected us to uncover his deception and is obviously guilty,” Widdon crowed while Combes puffed up his chest.

 

“Let me go, Breda. I’m only gonna hit them a little,” Ed snarled as he tried to tug himself free from Breda’s really impressive grip. He felt the Lions indignation and heard their muttered threats through his bond with them.

 

 _“If we ever manage to visit your dimension, I’m going to accidentally tear their throats out,”_ Red vowed. Since the others didn’t try and tell her that was a bad idea, Ed took it to mean they were on board with the plan.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, please refrain from striking them while I am present. I’m afraid I would be forced to take disciplinary action against you for striking a superior officer,” Grumman said, keeping his voice level as he watched the two generals coolly. “Who is your source for this information?” Grumman asked.

 

“Our informant wishes to remain anonymous. They are afraid of the possible danger to their person should Elric or his team learn of their identity,” Widdon informed Grumman, smugness oozing from his voice.

 

“You two are the only ones who should be afraid of possible danger to their person from me,” Ed muttered, loud enough for the generals to hear him but low enough that Grumman could claim ignorance.

 

“I see,” Grumman said. “What _exactly_ did this informant tell you?” Grumman asked, for all intents and purposes seeming to believe them. Ed was almost certain that this was a case of letting them take enough rope to hang themselves but a very small part of him was terrified that Grumman might believe them, despite the Lions efforts to assure him otherwise.

 

“Our informant claims to have overheard Alphonse Elric colluding with his brother previous to their meeting with Major Armstrong to try and come up with a suitable scapegoat. According to our source, they finally settled on former Major Belmont only minutes before Major Armstrong was due to meet with them,” Widdon reported.

 

“So did your informant claim that Alphonse Elric faked his own assault?” Grumman asked.

 

“No, Sir. We believe the assault to have been real but we believe the assailant to have been a random mugger. We believe that Alphonse Elric and his brother seized the opportunity to create this remarkable fable of Alphonse Elric’s attacker being behind the crimes that former General Mustang committed,” Widdon told him, obviously enjoying the fact that Grumman seemed to be believing him, if the gloating look he shot Ed was anything to go by.

 

“I see,” Grumman said before leaning back in his chair. “And what of my granddaughter?” Grumman asked and you could see the moment the generals realised they’d forgotten completely about Hawkeye. “Was the fact that she was kidnapped and tortured at Belmont’s hand, in Belmont’s childhood home, where she was later found tied to a chair and rescued by Lieutenant-Colonels Elric and Brookes, was that also a – and I’m paraphrasing here – ‘remarkable fable created in order to have former General Mustang released’?” Grumman asked, doing an envious job of keeping his voice completely calm.

 

“No, Sir. We aren’t claiming that Captain Hawkeye never went through that traumatic ordeal at all,” Widdon claimed, trying to sound reassuring while obviously trying to come up with a way to salvage the believability of his claims. The Lions scoffed in Ed’s head at how quickly Widdon and Combes’ claims were being shredded apart.

 

“Then I’m afraid I must admit to being a little confused by what you’re trying to say,” Grumman told them. “Since the sketch of former Major Belmont was one of the crucial pieces needed for Lieutenant-Colonels Elric and Brookes, their teams and the team of consultants to confirm her identity and rescue Captain Hawkeye, how can you claim Alphonse Elric and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric chose Belmont at random mere moments before Major Armstrong arrived in Alphonse Elric’s hospital room? After all, if she truly didn’t assault Alphonse Elric than she couldn’t be the one behind Captain Hawkeye’s kidnapping and torture,” Grumman pointed out.

 

 _“When we get to your dimension, I want him to be one of the first people we’re introduced too,”_ Black informed Ed, who sent a silent promise he’d do his best. The Lions settled themselves down enough so they could listen to everything going on without distracting Ed too much now.

 

“That is correct, Sir. We believe Belmont to be innocent of Captain Hawkeye’s kidnapping as well,” Widdon said, trying to salvage what he could. Grumman merely raised an unimpressed brow.

 

“Before she was sedated, former Major Belmont made numerous claims to being behind Captain Hawkeye’s kidnapping, as well as numerous other crimes to the hospital staff as she begged them to release her so she could finish the job, as she put it. Are you saying those claims were also falsified by Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and his brother?” Grumman asked and now it was Ed’s turn to shoot the generals a triumphant look.

 

“No, Sir, but-“ Widdon tried to say something more but Grumman spoke over him.

 

“Are you claiming that the word of Captain Hawkeye is also false? That she decided to let her kidnapper and torturer walk free in public just to try and frame former Major Belmont, who _you_ claimed you were told about being chosen _after_ Alphonse Elric’s assault and Captain Hawkeye’s kidnapping, therefore giving neither Lieutenant-Colonel Elric or his brother the opportunity to collude with Captain Hawkeye?” Grumman asked, his tone obtaining a steely edge to it. “Let me remind you, generals; you just told me you believed Belmont was framed for the kidnapping and torture of Captain Hawkeye. Either you don’t truly believe that or you believe that somehow, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric or his brother have the ability to telepathically talk with Captain Hawkeye and come up with this plan or it was a fantastical coincidence that the former major was chosen at complete random, _twice_ , to be the ‘scapegoat’, as you put it, for former General Mustang. So which is it?” Grumman demanded, glaring at the two men in question.

 

“It is possible that Lieutenant-Colonel Elric told Captain Hawkeye of the plan and ordered her to follow it while he was rescuing her from the basement,” Widdon said, though his voice made it obvious that he knew he was about to lose this.

 

“Would you trust the word of your subordinate?” Grumman asked, a pointed look being thrown at Brookes. “He was with either Lieutenant-Colonel Elric or Captain Hawkeye at all times before the drivers turned up to take them to the hospital,” Grumman said, beckoning Brookes forward. The man in question did take a couple of steps forward and did his best to not look nervous to be in the middle of his boss’ and the Fuhrer.

 

“Of course we trust his word, Fuhrer Grumman. We’ve never known Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes to lie to us,” Widdon said, a threatening look being sent towards Brookes. Ed felt the disbelieving scoffs from the Lions.

 

“What do you have to say about General Widdon’s claims that Lieutenant-Colonel Elric conspired with Captain Hawkeye in the basement?” Grumman asked Brookes, deciding not to comment on the silent threat since the lieutenant-colonel didn’t seem phased by it.

 

“With all due respect to Generals Widdon and Combes, they’re wrong in their accusations of Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, Alphonse Elric and Captain Hawkeye. Neither one of them provided a false statement to myself and I went over all of the evidence Lieutenant-Elric, his team and the team of consultants were able to compile and I am completely confident that every single piece was genuine,” Brookes told Grumman, absolute certainty in his voice.

 

 _“We need to meet him as well,”_ Green told Ed, who barely stopped his grin from showing.

 

“Thank you, lieutenant-colonel,” Grumman said with a nod before looking back at the generals. “Now, are there any more baseless accusations you’d like to make while completely ignoring all of the irrefutable evidence already collected against former Major Belmont?” Grumman asked, voice taking on a slightly mocking tone. Ed couldn’t help himself as he watched the two generals try and splutter indignantly, half-formed defensive reasons spilling from their mouths; the blonde started laughing, the Lions doing the same in his mind.

 

“You two really are the most desperate arseholes I’ve ever come across! It’s honestly impressive the lengths you’re willing to go to try and keep Mustang in jail and it makes me immensely curious as to why exactly you want him out of the military so badly,” Ed’s voice had turned from thoroughly amused to exceptionally suspicious as he spoke, “but both of you just made one of the dumbest mistakes you could make. You just accused my brother of lying to the military and us Elrics are renowned for our inability to let go of a grudge,” Ed told them, the threat obvious in his voice. Both Widdon and Combes spluttered at his words but neither were able to say anything in their defence when a new voice sounded from behind them.

 

“I see the two of you haven’t learned your lesson about falsifying evidence after your failed and laughable attempt at trying to guilt me into falsifying my statement to you.” Lieutenant-General Armstrong cut an imposing figure as she stood in the doorway of the Fuhrer’s office. Samantha shot Ed and Grumman an apologetic look for the interruption from where she stood behind Armstrong but she shot a vindictive look at the two generals.

 

“My apologies, Fuhrer Grumman, but Lieutenant-General Armstrong was most insistent she speak with you and those in your office. I saw no reason to refuse her request as she was polite but I apologise if I was mistaken, Sir,” Samantha said, bowing slightly to Grumman and ignoring the quiet snarls she got from the generals at the not so subtle jab to the two of them.

 

“Thank you, Samantha. I’m sure you made the correct call,” Grumman said, dismissing his secretary, who left silently. “Good morning, Lieutenant-General Armstrong,” Grumman offered the Ice Queen as she claimed one of the chairs at his gesture, throwing a freezing glare at Combes when he made a noise of protest and waving Ed, Brookes and Breda out of the salutes they’d given the moment Grumman sent Samantha away. “How are you?” Grumman asked, eyeing the bandage still wrapped around her head.

 

“I’m healing at a satisfactory rate and am more than willing to resume my command at Fort Briggs, Fuhrer Grumman,” Armstrong informed him. Her eyes glanced uncaringly at the others in the office with them. “Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, it seems you’ve managed to get yourself injured again. Nothing severe enough that you won’t be able to keep your promise to me, I imagine,” Armstrong stated and Edward nodded.

 

“I’d be happy to keep that promise at your leisure, General Armstrong,” Ed told her, the personification of respect.

 

 _“She seems scary. We need to meet her as well,”_ Red informed Ed, who nearly choked on the idea of introducing the Ice Queen to the Lions of Voltron.

 

She nodded to Ed, which he barely noticed, before turning her attention back to Grumman. “I’ve heard rumours that it’s likely that former Major Belmont will likely be charged with my assault and former General Mustang is likely to be released from prison. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t bother listening to, let alone putting stock in any rumours but as it involves my case, I would appreciate it if you would confirm or deny these rumours, Fuhrer Grumman,” Armstrong asked, straight to the point as always.

 

“I was told by Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes that he would be dropping by my office with information about whether the charges against either Mustang or Belmont would change. Am I correct in assuming that that is the actual reason you’re here, lieutenant-colonel?” Grumman asked Brookes, who nodded immediately.

 

“It is, Fuhrer Grumman, Sir,” Brookes told him, stepping forward once more. “My team and I have been working on sorting through the evidence uncovered in former Major Belmont’s childhood and current homes. She was smart enough to hide as much as possible in her childhood home so our focus has mainly been on it,” Brookes started saying.

 

“Former Major Belmont is extremely organised and meticulous in her work life and it appears that habit has carried over to her criminal activities as we uncovered dozens of notebooks, all written by Belmont, that she started writing shortly after Promised Day,” Brookes explained. “In them, she describes in explicit detail about how she was planning to get her revenge on General Mustang. She had several plans before she ultimately settled on this one, including – but not limited to – a plan to pick off Mustang’s team one by one.” Brookes glanced at Ed and Breda to see if they were alright before continuing when he was satisfied enough to keep talking.

 

“She stalked General Mustang for months, gathering and recording data on him in an almost religious manner. She learned all of his habits, the names and lives of everyone he met regularly and the names of every person who wasn’t a fan of his,” Brookes told them. “She was confused when Mustang and Edward disappeared on their first classified mission for you, Fuhrer Grumman, but she spent those days stalking the rest of the team to learn their habits so she could take them into account for when she put her plan in effect.” Breda looked a little stunned that he had been stalked and Ed nudged him lightly, trying to see if he was alright. Breda gave a slight nod in response to Ed’s silent question and they focused back on Brookes.

 

“She even wrote about what happened the weekend Mustang received his promotion,” Brookes went on to say. “Apparently, upon hearing the news, she became filled with so much rage that she left her townhouse and started walking in a random direction. She could feel that her anger wasn’t dissipating and was consumed by the uncontrollable urge to hurt someone. Unfortunately for him, she stumbled upon Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Chambers in an alley behind The Amestrian pub. He said something to her but she wrote that all she heard at the time was the blood pounding in her ears. She wrote that upon seeing Chambers, all of her anger was suddenly directed at him so she picked up the closest heavy object, a pipe that we know she kept after the fact, and lashed out at him. Despite his inebriated state, Belmont wrote that Chambers fought back, ripping a button from her military issued jacket when he grabbed it to try and get her away from him. She eventually landed a strike that knocked him out completely, according to her diary, and covered him with the ethyl alcohol contained in a bottle that she had started carrying in a jacket pocket before using a lighter to set him on fire. She then went on to say that she panicked when she realised what she had done and fled the scene, taking only the bottle and the pipe with her. She noted that she’d thought about going back to the scene to collect the button and any other possible evidence left behind but that she talked herself out of it, convinced that the moment she chose to go back to the scene would be the moment someone discovers his body.” Both Widdon and Combes were looking extremely impatient with how long it was taking Brookes to get through the report.

 

“What do we care about some insignificant lieutenant-colonel’s death? Just admit that Belmont wrote how she witnessed Mustang attacking the victims already!” Combes evidently couldn’t contain himself any longer. Ed nearly flinched against the strength of the Lions’ snarls. Grumman shot him a reprimanding look but it was Armstrong who actually berated him out loud.

 

“If you don’t mind, Brigadier-General Combes, but we are listening to Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ report, not the fairy-tale you’ve concocted in order to rid yourself of someone only you, Widdon and other snivelling cowards of your calibre are afraid of,” Armstrong snapped, causing the two generals to jerk back a little and Ed to duck his face behind Breda until he was confident he could school his expression into something more neutral than the ridiculous grin he was sporting right now.

 

“I’ll ask everyone to refrain from making unnecessary outbursts or other such distractions, unless it is a question for Brookes to clarify something,” Grumman ordered. “Please continue, Lieutenant-Colonel,” Grumman requested, nodding to Brookes.

 

“Thank you, Sir,” Brookes said before continuing his report. “When Brigadier-General Mustang and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric disappeared on their second classified mission for you, Fuhrer, Belmont did the same as she’d done so before; she stalked his team once more while she continued her planning. When Mustang and Edward returned, she resumed stalking the general once more,” Brookes told them, “but when General Mustang and Edward fell ill for those ten or so days a few months back, Belmont used the opportunity to narrow down her victim list and try and get an idea of their schedules, once she was certain that Mustang wouldn’t be returning to work for a little while. She discovered quickly that Captain Bryce was an easy target, with his propensity to get extremely drunk and to hit on any woman close by to him. However, Major Pardi, Colonel Summers and Generals Henley, Andrews and Armstrong wouldn’t be as easy to deal with and she knew she would have to develop another way to lure them into a trap.” Brookes paused for a moment to take a breath before continuing.

 

“She actually confirmed a lot of our theories about how she lured the other victims into the alley,” Brookes said, nodding at Ed. “She alchemised a stone wall to hide herself in the shadows of the alley while she lured Pardi, Summers, Andrews and yourself, General Armstrong, using a recording of her own voice calling weakly for help. We recovered the voice recording and at your convenience, General Armstrong, I would like to play it for you to see if you can confirm it was the voice you heard in the alley,” Brookes nodded at Armstrong.

 

“I imagine I’ll have plenty of time to arrange a meeting with you before I am permitted to return to Fort Briggs,” Armstrong told him and Brookes nodded in thanks.

 

“We also found proof that Belmont used a different tactic for General Henley,” Brookes told them, continuing to give his verbal report. “She had hidden herself in an alley that Henley usually walked past on her typical route home. She convinced Henley that she had proof of something that would ruin Mustang’s career if it ever came to light. When Henley questioned why she would give her documents as sensitive as that when she could keep them until she needed something from Mustang, Henley spun a tale of how she believed Henley was truly innocent and that she couldn’t stand seeing such an injustice happening against a woman like Henley. Henley obviously fell for it,” Brookes said, a touch drily.

 

“She also confirmed that Andrews fought back, just as Lieutenant-General Armstrong had done so. Unfortunately, Andrews hadn’t realised the trap for what it was as quickly as General Armstrong had and he still caught a glancing blow to his temple from the initial swing of the pipe. It didn’t knock him out immediately but he likely would’ve been off-balance and the blow likely affected his vision and she was able to overpower him.” Ed felt a stab of pride and sadness at the news that Andrews had fought back and he felt the Lions sending warmth and love through the bond in an effort to comfort him.

 

“What I wish to know is how Belmont knew I would be in Central when I was? I changed my day of arrival at the last minute and no one, aside from my family, had known of my meeting with Fuhrer Grumman. Did she mention anything in her notes about that?” Armstrong asked and Brookes nodded.

 

“You weren’t initially considered to be someone she was going to target as a definite part of the plan. You were more of a,” Brookes paused as he thought of the correct term, “substitute victim. You would only be targeted if you happened to be in Central in the time-frame Belmont needed you in,” Brookes told her. “As for _how_ she knew you were here, it really was just a complete coincidence she found out. Her commanding officer, Colonel Rubio, had sent her to pick up a parcel his team were expecting on the train you travelled in on and she spotted you in the crowd.” Armstrong couldn’t even be mad that she was a victim of mere convenience. “When she realised you were in town, she followed you as best she could. She overheard Major Armstrong informing his team of your dinner plans and she discovered that you would be meeting with Fuhrer Grumman that night thanks to overhearing someone gossiping about it on the base,” Brookes explained and Armstrong felt a strong twinge of annoyance at the fact that she had to continue enduring her family for far longer than she had done so since before her deployment to Fort Briggs.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes, this is still your investigation and Belmont is entirely your arrest,” Grumman interrupted Armstrong’s thoughts as he addressed Brookes. “It’s your solely your decision about how to proceed with the evidence you and your team have uncovered.”

 

Brookes nodded respectfully to Grumman even as he felt the glares he was getting from the two generals. He could see the looks Ed and Breda were giving the generals on behalf of Brookes from the corner of his eye. A quick glance to Armstrong showed she was waiting with the scowl that was ever-present on her face, appearing completely uncaring about what decision he would make and Brookes knew that she only cared enough to make sure the correct person was punished for the crimes.

 

“I request an arrest warrant for former Major Belmont so she may be charged with the murders of Captain Chase Bryce, Major Colin Pardi, Colonel James Summers, Brigadier-General Aleyce Henley, and Major-General Bernard Andrews and the assault and attempted murder of Lieutenant-General Armstrong. I also request your permission to have her face all charges pending against her during the one trial,” Brookes asked, ignoring the outraged stares he could feel Widdon and Combes directing his way.

 

“I approve both your requests,” Grumman told him.

 

“Thank you, Sir. In light of your approval to the aforementioned requests, I do have one more to ask of you,” Brookes said and Grumman nodded for him to continue. “As former Major Belmont is soon to be charged with the same crimes as former General Mustang has been charged with and there is not only a lack of evidence to support he was behind those crimes and there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Mustang was working with Belmont to commit these crimes, I request that all charges pending against former General Mustang be dropped and he be released as soon as possible, as well as be reinstated into the military with no repercussions.” Ed could’ve sworn the room itself held its breath as they waited for Grumman’s answer. Even the Lions were completely silent, their presence humming in his mind the only indication that Ed’s bond with them was still intact.

 

“Your request is granted. I’ll have the paperwork for both the arrest warrant for former Major Belmont and the release of Brigadier-General Mustang drawn up and ready to be processed as soon as possible,” Grumman said.

 

The effect those words had on the whole room was immediate. Brookes and Armstrong looked relieved, though Armstrong schooled her features impressively quickly. Ed was trying very hard to not join in with the celebratory roars sounding in his head while Breda managed to limit his own excitement at having solved this whole case and save Mustang to drawing Ed into a side-hug and refusing to dim the bright grin on his face. Ed didn’t even protest the hug or following hair ruffle like he ordinarily would’ve. The only people in the room who weren’t satisfied were the two generals.

 

“By your leave, Fuhrer Grumman?” Widdon ground out as Combes literally shook with anger next to him. Both men were bright red in their efforts to hold back their fury and Widdon’s clenched fists were trembling in the effort it took for him to keep his voice as controlled as he did.

 

“Do not think you will be getting out of a discussion about the appalling behaviour the two of you exhibited the past few days. We will be scheduling a meeting in the very near future to discuss your orders to deprive General Mustang of visitation rights with no justifiable cause, the blatant disregard you showed to my secretary and my office once again, and the disgusting and obvious attempt to pervert justice to suit your personal needs by slandering Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and Alphonse Elric’s good names with absolutely no proof to substantiate your claims and the malicious rumours that have spread through Central Command and the city itself that I can prove originated from your office. There are many other things we will be discussing in that meeting but what I’ve just listed will be the main topics we will be covering,” Grumman informed them, voice cold enough to rival General Armstrong’s on her testiest days. “I will be having Samantha schedule the meeting at _my_ earliest convenience. She will call your offices with a day and time and you will rearrange your own schedules to fit around the time Samantha gives you. I will accept nothing short of you being hospitalised or killed as an excuse to miss the meeting. Am I absolutely clear?” Grumman asked and Ed felt a slight perverse pleasure at the way the two generals squirmed.

 

“Crystal clear, Sir,” Widdon said, saluting as he did so though it did look like both the words and action were physically hurting him. Grumman glared at Combes.

 

“Yes, Fuhrer Grumman,” Combes nearly spat out as he saluted as well. Grumman made them hold the salutes for a few seconds longer than he normally would’ve.

 

“You’re dismissed,” Grumman said, waving them away with a careless flick of his hand. The two generals left without another word, just barely managing to not slam the door behind them. When the door slammed shut, Armstrong stood from her chair.

 

“Thank you for allowing me to participate in this meeting, Fuhrer Grumman. I am admittedly glad that the correct person will be paying for my assault and the murders. I didn’t believe General Mustang had been behind my attack. He may be an insufferable flirt and soft-hearted fool but he isn’t a coward and only a coward would’ve run before finishing me off just because they heard a door closing nearby,” Armstrong said, a little stiffly since she had basically praised Mustang. She turned her blue eyes on Ed, who managed to stop himself from using Breda as a human shield, though it was a close thing. “I’ll also admit to being surprised that you and your team were able to uncover the truth in less than a week, especially when the lead investigators had the cases for months and the only decent suspect they could scrounge up was Mustang,” Armstrong informed Ed. Brookes winced a little but he didn’t argue since she was absolutely correct.

 

“Thank you, Lieutenant-General Armstrong, but it wasn’t just my team who helped uncover the truth. The team of consultants were a massive boon to our case and we had an advantage over Lieutenant-Colonels Brookes and Granger. They had to start the investigation at the very beginning while we were able to start with all of the information they had to uncover,” Ed told her modestly.

 

“When can I expect you to keep your word?” Armstrong asked instead of berating Ed for being too soft like she wanted too. Her head was starting to ache something fierce and she desired nothing more than to head back to the hospital. Not that she would ever admit those thoughts out loud.

 

“I’ll be heading back to Resembool in the next couple of days but I’ll be back in Central in a week from yesterday for a check-up. I’m willing to meet with you whenever suits you best, General Armstrong,” Edward told her.

 

“Very well. I will let you know when I wish to meet,” Armstrong informed him. Ed nodded in acceptance and Armstrong turned back to Grumman. “Once again, I thank you, Fuhrer Grumman, for allowing me to interrupt your meeting with no warning.”

 

“I am pleased to hear you are doing well, General Armstrong. I would appreciate the chance to have the meeting that we were scheduled to have tomorrow afternoon, if it’s not an inconvenience,” Grumman said and Armstrong nodded.

 

“I’ll organise a time with your secretary, Sir,” Armstrong said before she saluted. “By your leave, Fuhrer Grumman.”

 

“You’re dismissed, General Armstrong,” Grumman said. Armstrong waved Brookes, Ed, and Breda’s salutes away as she left the office, closing the door behind her with much more respect than the two generals who had recently left. “Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes, if you’re willing to wait a few minutes, I’ll have the second arrest warrant written up for former Major Belmont,” Grumman told him and Brookes nodded.

 

“I’m happy to wait, Sir,” Brookes assured him. Grumman nodded at the man before turning the other two people in his office.

 

“I imagine the two of you likely still have some paperwork to deal with. Thank you for submitting the reports and I’ll hear from you once you’ve been to the hospital, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Grumman said, smiling at them knowingly. Both Ed and Breda began nodding emphatically.

 

“Thank you, Fuhrer Grumman. I’ll call Miss Samantha once I’ve spoken to Captain Hawkeye,” Ed said, giving Grumman a salute as Breda mimicked his words and actions.

 

“Thank you, Lieutenant-Colonel. You’re dismissed,” Grumman said, waving the salutes away.

 

“Cheers, Grumman. See you later, Brookes!” Ed waved at the other lieutenant-colonel as he and Breda disappeared out of the office. Grumman just shook his head at the familiar informality as he dug through his desk for the documents he needed. 

* * *

 

Breda and Ed didn’t run to the office but it was a near thing. In fact, the only thing that had stopped them from doing so was the fact that Ed had the leg injury and Breda had decided that they shouldn’t risk the stitches. The fact that the Lions had also vetoed the idea of running to the office as fast as possible by pointing out that the news wouldn’t change no matter how long it took them to get to the office helped make Ed realise that walking wouldn’t be a bad idea. At the very least, he wouldn’t get a lecture from an extreme number of people for popping his stitches if he just walked.

 

“You know something, Ed? It’s almost surreal that less than a week ago we were woken by phone calls from Captain Hawkeye telling us that General Mustang had been arrested and to be prepared for the office to be raided the next morning and now we’re about to tell the teams that Belmont is going to be charged and Mustang will be released,” Breda said, a little disbelievingly as they walked to the office.

 

“I know. When the BAU turned up and Fuhrer Grumman gave us the week to find Belmont, I’ll admit that I didn’t completely believe we could do it inside the week,” Ed admitted. “Part of me thought that we would still be looking for the real killer while Mustang was on trial and an even smaller part of me thought we might never find out who framed Mustang in time.” The Lions sent him a warm feeling through their bond as Ed panicked slightly when he realised he’d admitted that out loud.

 

“I thought the same thing when you told us we had a week,” Breda told him, giving him a small smile as he nudged his automail arm.

 

“Should we get food before we go back? Or do you think I should get better food as a celebration when I leave the hospital?” Ed asked, changing the subject to something less feely. Breda grinned, knowing what the blonde was doing.

 

“I think the mess sandwiches are not good celebration food,” Breda told him honestly and Ed grinned.

 

“True but I’m not paying for everyone again. You lot are springing for your own food,” Ed told him and Breda groaned good-naturedly.

 

“If we must,” Breda groaned dramatically, causing Ed to chuckle. Breda joined in a moment later before starting a debate about where they should get food from when their laughter died down. 

* * *

 

They finally reached the office and by an unspoken agreement, they entered the office with their excitement carefully hidden from their faces. Ed glanced around the office as they entered and saw that the scattered notebooks and files had almost been completely cleared from the desks and floor and returned to the appropriate box so that the office desks were now covered mostly by the usual day-to-day papers.

 

“Hey, Ed. How’d you go with Fuhrer Grumman?” Rossi asked once he spotted the two men entering the room.

 

“Handed off the reports with no problems but were interrupted by Widdon and Combes barging into Grumman’s office like they owned the place. Miss Samantha and Brookes were not impressed,” Ed told them as he and Breda sat at their desks.

 

“To be honest, no one except for the generals were impressed by their behaviour,” Breda told them and Ed nodded in agreement.

 

“What happened?” Hotch asked and Ed sighed.

 

“They found out about Belmont being charged for Miss Riza, Al and Chambers and heard rumours that she’ll be charged with the crimes Mustang has been charged with so they decided to confront the Fuhrer about it,” Ed told them, scowling at the very recent memories. “When Grumman pointed out that they had no evidence suggesting that Belmont was behind framing Mustang – which Brookes backed up – so Belmont wasn’t being charged with those crimes at that time, they claimed to have evidence that Al and I chose Belmont as a scapegoat in a desperate attempt to get Mustang out of prison.” Everyone except Breda looked various degrees of shocked and angry.

 

“I almost wish I witnessed your reaction to that, chief,” Havoc said wistfully. Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“I tried to hit them but Breda held me back and Grumman told me I couldn’t physically assault them in front of him or he’d be forced to charge me with assault. He didn’t say shit about me attacking them in the hallway or something so you might get to witness something yet,” Ed told Havoc who looked a little excited by that prospect.

 

“Don’t beat them up where you could get caught, Edward,” JJ told him sternly and Ed couldn’t help but notice her word choice.

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Ed said with a cheeky wink. Someone made an impatient noise – Ed suspected Havoc – and Ed took the hint. “Anyway, Brookes looked as stunned as Breda and I were at their claim. According to the generals, they received an anonymous tip that claimed that Al was mugged, not attacked, but that he and I decided to make up a story about him being attacked by someone claiming to have been behind the crimes Mustang was charged with and that we chose Belmont because we didn’t know her too well. Grumman tore them apart using logic and it was honestly a thing of beauty to witness,” Ed told them with a laugh. “He pointed out that Miss Riza had been kidnapped during Al’s assault and asked whether the generals were claiming that never happened so they changed their story to claim that Belmont wasn’t behind Miss Riza’s kidnapping and assault. Grumman pointed out that we found her in Belmont’s childhood home and that Belmont had spent several minutes yelling at hospital staff about how she was behind everything before the sedation kicked in. Brookes was also asked to say whether Miss Riza and I spent any time talking about framing Belmont while we were in the basement and he basically told Grumman that the generals were idiots though he did it a lot nicer than I would’ve.” Several chuckles sounded in the room as they imagined what Ed would’ve said.

 

“Lieutenant-General Armstrong also arrived after Grumman finished destroying the general’s claims and she berated them for their efforts,” Ed went on saying. “She had dropped by to see if the rumours about Mustang and Belmont were true and Grumman asked Brookes whether his team had found anything,” Ed told them, watching as they all seemed to tense up as they realised that Brookes had been there for a reason. “Brookes told Grumman about how he and his team finished reading most of Belmont’s diaries. Belmont will be charged with the five murders and Armstrong’s assault and Mustang will have all charges formally dropped against him and will likely be out of that cell by tomorrow afternoon,” Ed told them and grinned at everyone’s reactions.

 

The Amestris team all let out whoops of victory and clapped everyone they could reach on the back. Morgan joined in and Ed found himself on the receiving end of several hugs and hair ruffles, which caused him to glare at the perpetrators. The rest of the BAU agents were a lot quieter in their celebration. There were shared grins at the Amestrians reactions and quietly said praises from Hotch to his team.

 

“What’s all this noise about?” An amused voice sounded from the doorway and everyone turned to see Al standing there.

 

“Al? Did you finally realise hospitals suck and escape? How did you slip past Doc Evans?” Ed asked as he hopped up from his chair to pull his younger brother into a one-armed hug.

 

“I was released, brother, and hospitals aren’t evil!” Al exclaimed, rolling his eyes as he carefully returned the hug.

 

“One day you all will see I’m right about them,” Ed claimed as he and Al let go of each other. “Seriously, though, how come you’re here? Who drove you?” Ed asked as the others started coming over to say hello to the younger Elric.

 

“Hello, everyone,” Al smiled warmly at the room before answering Ed. “Doctor Evans did his rounds and said I was fine to go, so long as I called the hospital immediately if I felt dizzy or nauseous for any unknown reason,” Al told him. “We called a military car to come and pick us up, by the way,” Al said and Ed’s attention was immediately drawn to two words in particular.

 

“’Us’?” Ed asked, looking behind Al as though he expected someone to come walking in behind him.

 

“Captain Hawkeye was released too but she asked me to tell you that she was going to go see Fuhrer Grumman first to let him know she’s alright,” Al told him and Ed nodded.

 

“Fair enough. Grumman has been really worried about her, even if he can’t really show it. I was going to be leaving in a couple of minutes to go and see the two of you in the hospital and call Grumman with an update on Miss Riza,” Ed told him. “I was going to grab some lunch on my back from the hospital so we could have a celebratory lunch.”

 

“What are you celebrating?” Al asked curiously.

 

“The charges against Mustang will be dropped and he’ll be released in a day or so while Belmont will be charged with those murders and the assault,” Ed told his brother, a massive grin on his face.

 

“That’s great!” Al exclaimed, pulling Ed back into another careful hug. “General Mustang will be really excited to hear about that,” Al went on to say as he released Ed.

 

“I’m sure he will be,” Hotch said. “It’s good to see you out of the hospital, Alphonse.” Hotch gave the younger Elric a rare smile.

 

“Thank you, Agent Hotchner,” Al said before turning back to his brother. “When are you going to get lunch? I’m starving,” Al asked, whining a little and pouting when several of the others laughed at him.

 

“You can’t half-tell that you’re related to Ed, can you?” Morgan laughed harder when he saw he was on the receiving end of a glare from each Elric.

 

“We can go out and get the food if you want, Ed,” Fuery offered once the laughter in the room had died down.

 

“That would be great, Fuery,” Ed said before addressing the room. “Alright, what does everyone feel like for lunch?” He asked and soon the room was filled with discussions about where they should get their lunch from. 

* * *

 

After a far lengthier debate amongst everyone than Ed truly expected, they settled on a restaurant and Fuery, Rossi and Reid all left to go pick up everyone’s orders. Ed handed over enough money to cover himself, Al and a couple of the other’s meals with a reminder to pick up something for Hawkeye before the trio left. Once they had gone, Ed and Al sat down so Ed and Breda could regale Al with the events that had happened in Grumman’s office. Al had looked like he was going to reprimand Ed for his comment about their behaviour until Ed told him about what the generals accusation was. For a moment, Ed had thought his younger brother might actually go and track Widdon and Combes down and give them a piece of his mind.

 

Ed hadn’t missed the way Al scowled slightly any time Mustang’s name was mentioned and it confused him for a few moments before he realised that he’d never told his brother about Mustang’s apology or his offer. He’d cast his mind back to when he told Al about what had happened with Belmont, curious about why Al hadn’t questioned the flame alchemy he’d preformed to get himself and Brookes out of the basement, and almost hit his head on the desk when he realised he’d never mentioned it. He only told Al that he’d managed to cause a distraction that bought him and Brookes enough time to get out of the basement. He’d been about to tell Al about being taught flame alchemy when Fuery, Rossi and Reid turned back up with food. They hadn’t even set it on the desks when Hawkeye walked in behind them.

 

“Miss Riza!” Ed exclaimed, surprised to see her in the office so quickly. She gave him a large, genuine smile as she walked over to the desks. Ed noted she was barely limping but he also knew that her ability to hide how much pain she was in could rival his own.

 

“Captain Hawkeye!” Several of the others said, sounding just as surprised as Ed when they realised she actually was in the room.

 

“Hello, everyone. I trust nothing major has happened in my absence, other than what happened in Fuhrer Grumman’s office this morning?” Hawkeye asked, eyeing up the Amestrians in particular.

 

“No, Captain. The news about Belmont and General Mustang has been the only excitement since the chief’s release yesterday,” Havoc told her. “Well, with the exception of Ed’s bond with the Lions coming back in full force,” Havoc added on, a little carelessly.

 

“The Lions are talking to you again?” Hawkeye asked Ed as she took her seat at her desk.

 

“Here you go, Captain Hawkeye. We grabbed you some lunch,” Fuery said before Ed could answer her, handing her the container of food they had picked up for her.

 

“Thank you, Fuery,” Hawkeye said, giving him a small smile as she accepted the food before looking at Ed, who was taking the opportunity to sort through his order.

 

“Yeah, they re-established the link yesterday when I went to go update Mustang on everything. It was a little painful but that might’ve been more because they were angry at me for getting hurt, like it’s my fault Belmont decided to fight me,” Ed scowled and everyone knew his words weren’t for them. He rolled his eyes at something only he could hear before looking back at Hawkeye. “They want me to say that they’re happy to see that you’re okay,” Ed dutifully passed along the message.

 

“Tell them ‘thank you’ from me, please,” Hawkeye requested and Ed nodded. Hawkeye knew her message would likely have been heard by the Lions, since Ed would likely be letting them have enough access to himself that they can see and hear everything going on around him, but she also knew that Ed would pass her thanks on to them through the bond anyway. “How has everything in the office been going since my unplanned absence?” Hawkeye asked the group.

 

“All paperwork was caught up this morning and we’ve managed to sort through most of the files and whatnot from the two cases and pack them away to return them to the original investigators, Captain,” Falman reported.

 

Hawkeye looked mildly surprised before looking mildly suspicious, like Mustang had just told her he hadn’t set any paperwork on fire, but she noted that there were no longer papers strewn all over the desks and notepads placed within easy reach of the person using it. In fact, most of the boxes from Brookes’ office were neatly packed and stacked off to the side, out of the way. She saw her own journals were sitting innocently on one of the spare shelves, likely to make sure no one noticed them if they came into the office. She must’ve realised she was being told the truth since her suspicious expression disappeared.

 

“I expect the rest of the case files and such will be packed and returned to the original investigator by this afternoon,” Hawkeye said and received nods from everyone, excluding the BAU, and she nodded once in satisfaction. “Very good. I look forward to having our office running normally soon,” Hawkeye said and the corners of her mouth twitched upwards at the fervent nods she got from her team. The BAU didn’t stop their amusement from showing on their faces. 

* * *

 

The conversations devolved into chatter as everyone gathered around the desks focused more on their food and small talk. Ed met Al’s eye close to the end of the meal and silently managed to convey that he wanted to talk to him privately in Mustang’s inner office. Al looked confused but nodded and the two of them managed to slip into the office once they’d finished their lunch.

 

“What’s wrong, brother?” Al asked, the moment Ed had quietly closed the door behind him, taking a seat one of the couches.

 

“Nothing, Al. I just need to tell you about something I realised I’d managed to forget to tell you about,” Ed said, still astonished at himself for forgetting to tell Al about something so important.

 

“Brother, you always forget to tell me something. Please don’t tell me you managed to get yourself injured so soon,” Al said, half-teasing and Ed huffed out a laugh as he rolled his eyes.

 

“No, nothing like that,” Ed promised as he sat next to Al. “Look, I know Reid told you what he heard from either Hotch, Morgan or Havoc about what Mustang said to me when I told him about what happened to you and Miss Riza and I am well-aware that Havoc is likely telling Miss Riza what happened as we speak,” Ed said and saw the way Al’s features darkened slightly.

 

“He and I will be having a discussion about that,” Al swore. “He had no right to say what he said to you and if he hasn’t apologised already, I’ll make him sorry,” Al promised, fuming slightly. Ed placed his automail hand on the arm closest to him in a soothing gesture.

 

“That’s actually what I want to talk to you about,” Ed told him. “He’s already apologised to me. Miss JJ and Havoc went to talk to him about whether Miss Riza kept anything from her father that might help us while I was with you and Reid at the hospital and he asked them to ask me to go and speak to him alone.” Al didn’t say anything but he didn’t look convinced that Mustang had offered a good enough apology so Ed continued talking. “Morgan went with me, though he waited at the sign-in desk, and I went to speak with Mustang. He apologised, Alphonse. Like, a proper apology. I don’t know where he managed to pull that from but he gave me a genuine apology.” Al looked unsure now and Ed knew it was likely because he knew what Ed was like when it came to that kind of situation. He did have a tendency to play off the situation so people would think he wasn’t affected by it and didn’t require an apology.

 

“I’m glad he apologised to you, brother. You really didn’t deserve to have him say what he did just because he couldn’t control his emotions,” Al said, patting him on his automail arm in a comforting way. “He deserved far more than the one punch, though.” Al’s eyes twinkled in amusement as Ed let out a surprised laugh.

 

“I’m a little surprised you’re not lecturing me about hitting a superior officer,” Ed admitted with a chuckle.

 

“Yes, well, Mustang was an arsehole and he deserved it,” Al sniffed. “Besides, he wasn’t a superior officer at the time,” Al pointed out and Ed nodded in agreement.

 

“Yeah, he wasn’t. Felt good to hit him,” Ed confessed. “Been wanting to do that for years,” Ed smirked as Al rolled his eyes.

 

“Edward,” Al said exasperatingly.

 

“There is something else though,” Ed said, sobering up a little bit. Al noticed the change in his demeanour immediately and sat a little straighter. “After he apologised and I showed him Belmont’s sketch to see if he knew her, I went to leave because I didn’t really want to be around him. He stopped me from going, saying he still wanted to discuss something with me,” Ed told him. “Al, he offered to teach me fire alchemy.” Ed looked up to see his brother’s reaction and almost laughed at the comically shocked look on Al’s face.

 

“Seriously? What did you do?” Al asked when Ed nodded that it was true.

 

“I thought he was only offering to teach me so he could clear his own conscious about saying what he said and I told him to shove it because I didn’t want to learn it if it was only being offered to me out of pity or whatever,” Ed told him and Al nodded like he expected nothing less. “But then he told me that he truly wanted to teach me because he knew he could trust me with the secrets. He told me that Hawkeye would agree with him when he said that I was the perfect person to pass the secrets of flame alchemy to and I believed him, Al,” Ed told him and Al resisted the urge to drag his brother into the biggest bear hug he could manage, mainly because he didn’t want to injure his brother even more. He knew how much it meant to Ed to hear that from Mustang.

 

“So, he’s going to teach you once he’s been released?” Al asked and Ed nodded before screwing his face up a little.

 

“Actually, he’s already started teaching me. We spent a couple of hours in his cell using the gloves you gave me and going over the basics so I could produce a flame. It actually came in handy against Belmont,” Ed told him and Al raised a questioning brow. “When Belmont went to shoot Brookes and I got in the way, I used flame alchemy to stop her from doing anything else while Brookes and I got out of the basement,” Ed explained and Al shook his head.

 

“How did you manage to forget to tell me that you were being taught flame alchemy and had used it against Belmont?” Al asked and Ed shrugged his right shoulder before grinning.

 

“Who knows?” He chuckled a little at himself.

 

“So, what happens now?” Al asked and Ed shrugged once more.

 

“Well, Grumman should’ve already pushed the paperwork for Mustang’s release through so he should get out tomorrow sometime. I need to go to Resembool to get my automail checked on so that wrench-wielding witch doesn’t kill me for not getting them looked at after the fight,” Ed scowled as Al smothered his giggles. “We also have to escort Miss Gracia and Elysia back to Central now that Mustang will be released. That reminds me that we actually need to call them and Winry to let them know when we’ll be there,” Ed said, snapping his fingers suddenly. “But right now, I need to think of a way to get Mustang back for that bloody promotion. Wanna help?” Ed asked, a sharp grin on his face as he started contemplating things he could do. Al only needed a moment to think before his own sharp grin curled onto his face. It would be the best way for him to get a small amount of retribution for what was said to Edward.

 

“Definitely,” Al grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments would be very muchly appreciated and valued!


	25. Chapter 25

There was a knock at the door that had both boys immediately stop their plotting and exchange a scared look, since they both knew who was likely to be on the other side of the door. “Enter!” Ed eventually called as both he and Al tried to look as innocent as possible before Hawkeye entered the room and gave them an unimpressed look.

 

“Captain Hawkeye, had something happened?” Al asked, a little worried. She gave him a flat look.

 

“Not unless you’ve done something to this office,” Hawkeye said blandly.

 

“Not yet,” Ed told her, smirking a little.

 

“As long as it doesn’t cause irreparable harm to the office, any of the people or to the general’s ability to do his paperwork for a long period of time, I don’t need to know,” Hawkeye said and both boys exchanged a grin. “Alphonse, I was hoping to speak with Edward in private, please?” Hawkeye asked. Al nodded and stood immediately.

 

“Of course, Captain Hawkeye. I’ll be out with the others. Brother, be nice.” Ed scowled at his brother’s retreating back. He just knew his brother had rolled his eyes before he shut the door behind him. Hawkeye took a seat on the couch opposite the one Ed was now occupying by himself.

 

“What’s up, Miss Riza?” Ed asked, a little worried himself now.

 

“I wished to speak to you about you being taught flame alchemy. We didn’t really have a lot of time when you first informed me about General Mustang’s decision to talk about it.” Hawkeye noticed the way Ed’s face immediately fell before he managed to hide it. Despite his best efforts, Hawkeye could still see the worry and fear in his eyes. “I stand by everything I said in that basement,” Hawkeye told him, moving from her couch to join Ed on the other one and placed her hand on his uninjured shoulder. “I meant every word I said; I trust you with my father’s life work and I wouldn’t have chosen a single person other than you to learn it but I want to make sure you understand why I wasn’t excited to hear about you being taught flame alchemy,” Hawkeye assured him and noted her words didn’t have the soothing effect she’d hoped for.

 

“Mustang told us – well, me, Morgan and Hotch, anyway – about what your father did to you and what you asked Mustang to do to it and why,” Ed told her and Hawkeye felt a flash of annoyance at the fact that her boss – and friend – had shared one of her most personal secrets without her permission by she never let that annoyance show on her face since she knew Edward would think she was annoyed at him.

 

“So you know that I never wanted anyone else to learn flame alchemy, that I thought it was far too dangerous to trust to anyone again?” She asked and Ed nodded, looking away from her for a moment. “That’s true,” she said. “You saw the way General Mustang lost control when we confronted Envy. How he almost sacrificed his humanity to kill that homunculi with my father’s art, despite my best efforts to keep him from going over that cliff,” Hawkeye recalled those minutes with a shiver of horror at how close she had been to keeping her promise to him.

 

“I remember,” Ed said, voice low and a little uncertain, like he really wasn’t sure where she was going with that.

 

“That is the main reason why I never wanted anyone else to learn flame alchemy. What General Mustang did in Ishval during the war, the destruction and death he wrought with a single snap was devastating but he did so under orders. It wasn’t his decision alone to do what he did there. It was horrible and I regretted showing him the tattoo many times when I witnessed him leveling buildings and people like they were nothing with one movement but we were following orders. That’s why I never wholly placed blame on him for his actions there,” Hawkeye told Ed, who nodded a little. “However, Envy was another story. General Mustang had allowed himself to become consumed with his rage and grief when he realised Envy was the one who killed Maes Hughes and he nearly lost sight of himself.” Edward remembered how scary it was to see Mustang like that, though he’d never admit that out loud.

 

“That’s why you’re worried about me learning flame alchemy?” Ed asked, sounding a little morose. Hawkeye nodded.

 

“Even you would admit, Edward, that you have an extreme protective streak when it comes to your loved ones and that your anger has a quick trigger,” Hawkeye said gently. “I am worried that something may happen to Alphonse or to Miss Rockbell or to the Hughes’ or any of us and that you would use flame alchemy in the spur of the moment.” Ed shook his head as she spoke.

 

“I wouldn’t though, and I can say that for certain now that I’ve used it once against Belmont,” Ed told her. “I’ve never once wanted to know how flame alchemy worked, outside of my desire to know how every alchemy worked, but I never wanted to learn how it worked so I could use it,” Ed explained, gesturing with his automail hand a little. “Using it against Belmont was the best way I could cause a big enough distraction that she would never see coming for me and Brookes to get out of that basement without her shooting at us again but I realised that I would only ever use it as a last resort.” Ed hadn’t told anyone about how wrong it had felt using the glove and flame alchemy against Belmont. At the time he figured it was because he wasn’t supposed to know flame alchemy, that it had always been an alchemy that he’d come to peace about never learning so it had felt like he was breaking a taboo again, just much less dangerous. He smirked suddenly. “I think I prefer punching the problem repeatedly,” he joked and Hawkeye allowed her amusement to show.

 

“Somehow, I am not surprised to hear that,” Hawkeye said drily, causing Ed to chuckle. “Edward, I meant it when I said I entrusted my father’s work to you and I will not ask you or General Mustang to give up the flame alchemy lessons but I will ask one thing of you,” she said, seriously.

 

“Yes?” Ed was prepared to promise her just about anything so he could prove he was worthy of the trust she was placing in him.

 

“I want your word that you will never use flame alchemy unless it is your last resort or you have absolutely no other choice. I want your promise that you will ask Alphonse or someone you trust just as much to keep an eye on you when you are using flame alchemy so they can help pull you back if you stray too far, like I did for General Mustang,” Hawkeye beseeched him. Ed was momentarily stunned. He had only ever seen Hawkeye beg once during the years he had known her and that was during the fight with Envy. While not on the same level as that, she certainly sounded like she was close to begging him and Ed found he did not like that.

 

“I promise, Miss Riza. Outside of my lessons with Mustang, I won’t use flame alchemy for anything unless I absolutely have no other choice and I will ask Alphonse to make sure I never abuse flame alchemy,” Ed swore. Hawkeye held his gaze for a moment before nodding sharply once.

 

“Thank you, Edward. I know you will keep your promises. You have no idea how relieved I am now,” Hawkeye said as she stood up. “I’ll let Alphonse know he can come back in. I’m sure you have more plotting to do. Just remember what I said,” Hawkeye said as Ed stood up.

 

“We will,” Ed laughed but stopped when he noticed Hawkeye hadn’t moved far from him. He was about to ask her what was wrong but then he was swept up into a hug by the captain. She was careful about how tightly she squeezed him and where her arms went exactly. Ed was quicker to return this hug, even if his return hug was one-armed.

 

“Thank you, Edward, for everything you’ve done the last few days,” Hawkeye whispered before giving him a final squeeze and disentangling herself from him.

 

“You’re welcome, Miss Riza,” Ed said, giving her a smile even though he still felt a little stunned by the whole thing. Not many people got two hugs from Hawkeye inside of two days. He watched as she left the office before sitting back down. Only moments later, Alphonse came back into the room.

 

“Everything alright, Brother?” Al asked, once he’d shut the door. Ed gave him a genuine smile.

 

“Everything’s fine. She just wanted to make sure I understood just how dangerous flame alchemy was and why she was hesitant back in the basement to tell me that she agreed with Mustang,” Ed told him. “Actually, she also asked me to promise her something and part of it has to do with you,” Ed said. Al’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

 

“Me?” He asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Yup,” he said. “She wanted me to promise her that my flame alchemy would be a last resort. She doesn’t want me using it outside of lessons with Mustang unless I have absolutely no other option. I told her I had no problem with that. Using it against Belmont that one time proved to me that I definitely prefer a more hands on approach to dealing with criminals.” Al rolled his eyes as Ed mimed punching someone. Of course his brother would prefer that.

 

“What does that have to do with me though, Ed?” Al queried, not really seeing how he was involved in this.

 

“Well, she asked me to have someone I trusted watch out for me when I do use flame alchemy outside of lessons,” Ed told him. “Do you remember what I told you about Mustang and Envy?” Al nodded. It wasn’t exactly the kind of conversation you forgot. “Well, basically you would be Miss Riza in that situation. I’d like you to promise me that if I ever make you think I’m losing myself that badly, you’ll deal with me.” Ed made sure to keep eye contact with his brother so he knew just how serious he was.

 

“Brother, I don’t know if I can promise that,” Al whispered and Ed almost winced in sympathy. He knew what he was asking Al was a lot. He was asking his only family to do whatever it took to make sure he didn’t abuse his power, even if that meant killing him.

 

“Al, you know that if I ever get to that point, you would be the only person able to talk me down and if you can’t,” Ed trailed off for a moment, “if you can’t talk me down than I obviously can’t be talked down and I don’t ever want to be so out of my mind that I kill innocent people,” Ed told him, pleading a little for Al to understand it was hurting him to ask his little brother to promise this, “so I need to know that there will be someone I can trust to make sure I never do that and there is no one I trust more to know when there is no way for me to turn back than you,” Ed said, hating the fact that he was the cause behind Al’s watery eyes.

 

“Brother, I don’t know if I _could_ make that kind of call,” Al confessed and Ed nodded understandingly.

 

“I know I’m asking you to promise something I should never be asking you to promise. You don’t have to give me an answer now. Miss Riza didn’t say I needed to have that promise from someone immediately so just think about it?” Ed asked, placing his hand on Al’s and squeezing it gently.

 

“I promise,” Al said quietly before pulling Ed into a hug and almost squeezing him tight enough to hurt. “I promise I’ll think about it.” Ed tightened his grip he had on his brother slightly before releasing him.

 

“That’s all I want you to do right now,” Ed assured him. “Take as long as you need to.” Ed squeezed his arm one more time before sighing. “But, while you’re thinking about that, we need to call Granny and Winry to tell them about everything that’s happened and to make sure Winry will be in Resembool when we head back so she can check her precious automail for the slightest damage then hit me with her wrench for fighting,” Ed scowled, sounding like he was someone facing certain death, which cause his brother to laugh.

 

“I’m sure she’ll be nice to you when she sees how hurt you already are,” Al said and Ed let out a disbelieving scoff.

 

“We _are_ talking about the same wrench-wielding witch, aren’t we?” Ed asked sarcastically as he headed for Mustang’s desk and private phone.

 

“Who are you planning on calling first, brother?” Al asked, ignoring Ed’s last question. Ed paused for a moment to consider.

 

“Probably best to call Granny first. If we’re lucky, something might’ve happened that prevented Winry from going to Rush Valley and she’ll still be in Resembool,” Ed said as he dialed the number to Pinako’s home. He sat in Mustangs chair while Al leant against his automail arm while both of them listened as the phone began to ring.

 

 _“Rockbells Automail. This is Pinako.”_ Ed almost sighed in relief that it was Granny who answered the phone.

 

“Hey, Granny. It’s Ed and Al,” Ed said.

 

“Hey, Granny,” Al greeted and they heard Granny sigh a little.

 

 _“It’s good to hear from you two. How is everything in Central?”_ Granny asked and Al nudged Ed to answer. Ed rolled his eyes at his younger brother but did as he was told.

 

“Everything’s great,” Ed said, honestly. “How’s everything with you? Are Miss Gracia and Elysia alright?” Ed asked, wanting to know that before they got to why the brothers were actually calling.

 

 _“They’re both fine. Elysia has been keeping Den out of mischief and has been a big help in the kitchen with her mother. Gracia has had to help me with a few patients who needed an extra set of hands so she’ll know a thing or two to help patch you up, Ed, when you refuse to see a doctor,”_ Granny said pointedly, causing Ed to roll his eyes, even though she couldn’t see it.

 

“We’re glad to hear that, Granny,” Al said, stifling some giggles. “Is Winry there still?” He asked and Ed gave him a thumb’s up for doing so.

 

 _“No, Winry left for Rush Valley the day after Ed left for Central,”_ Granny told them and Ed silently groaned. They were going to have to make two phone calls today after all. _“Now, as good as it’s been to catch up, the two of you never call this soon after paying me a visit unless you need something.”_ Granny pointed out and Ed sighed a little. She was right.

 

“You remember those strangers I went to talk to after dropping Miss Gracia and Elysia off with to yours?” Granny hummed affirmatively and they heard her inhale deeply, presumably through her pipe. “Well, it turns out they were friends of mine and Mustang’s from the first secret mission Fuhrer Grumman sent us on,” Ed told her. Granny and Winry knew the truth of what happened but Ed didn’t trust these lines not to be tapped by someone.

 

 _“That’s interesting. Did you figure out why they were here in Amestris?”_ Granny asked, sounding nonchalant but Ed and Al weren’t fooled.

 

“We aren’t 100% certain but we think it had something to do with Mustang being arrested. Al and I will tell you everything in much more detail in person but the main thing is that they were able to help us with the investigation and thanks to them, we found the real killer and Mustang will likely be released tomorrow,” Ed told her and Granny gave a low, impressed whistle.

 

 _“That’s impressive, even for the two of you. Figuring out who the killer truly was after only five days when the military had months to do so? Well done, boys,”_ Granny praised them and it took everything in each of their willpowers to not squirm in joy at the praise. It took a lot to impress Granny enough to compliment someone.

 

“It wasn’t just us, Granny,” Al said.

 

“Yeah, we had a lot of help from the foreigners and other people,” Ed told her and she harrumphed lightly.

 

 _“Yes, well I’m sure they wouldn’t have solved the case as quickly as they did if they didn’t have the two of you investigating alongside them,”_ Granny told them seriously. _“Now, I’m sure there’s more you need to tell me, other than the fact that you got your boss out of prison, Ed, so what is it?”_ Granny asked and Ed and Al shared a grin. They could never get anything past the old woman.

 

“Well, we’d appreciate it if you could let Gracia and Elysia know what we just told you, for starters,” Ed said.

 

 _“I will let them know as soon as they get back from doing the shopping,”_ Granny promised. _“What’s the other thing?”_

 

“Al and I will be heading back to Resembool the day after tomorrow to bring Miss Gracia and Elysia home now that Mustang will be released,” Ed told her. “We will also have the six strangers with us and more than likely have Mustang and Miss Riza as well. Is there anyway we can all stay with you for the night? I have a feeling that the strangers will likely be gone by the next morning,” Ed asked and he heard Granny sigh once more.

 

 _“There’ll be 10 of you, including you and your brother, yes?”_ Granny asked.

 

“Yep,” Ed said. Granny started muttering to herself as she tried to think whether it would be possible.

 

 _“I’m assuming you’ll be getting your automail checked over while you’re here, which will mean Winry will need somewhere to sleep,”_ Granny said and Ed winced. He’d actually forgotten about that.

 

“Uh, yeah. I got into a bit of a fight with the real killer and since I’m almost due for a check-up anyway, I figured I could kill two birds with one stone,” Ed told her.

 

 _“That’s what I thought,”_ Granny said. _“It’ll be a tight squeeze but Winry can sleep in my room while Gracia, Hawkeye and Elysia share. You boys and two others can sleep in your old room. Someone can sleep on the couch and the others will have to sleep in the patients room, so long as we don’t have any patients to deal with. If not, they can sleep in the lounge room.”_ Ed and Al winced out the picture in their head as they visualised that.

 

“If it’s a major hassle, Granny, some of us can book a hotel room,” Al said but Granny tutted and cut their protests off.

 

 _“If it’s only for one night, we’ll manage. If everyone is still there the next morning, then we might have to talk about fixing the sleeping arrangements,”_ Granny assured them. Her tone also told them they could try to argue but they’d get nowhere with her and both boys knew better than to try.

 

“As long as you’re sure, Granny,” Al said.

 

“We can stop by the shops in Resembool to buy some extra food if you want,” Ed offered, knowing that Granny rarely shopped enough to feed fourteen people in one sitting. “Just tell us what you want us to grab.”

 

 _“Nonsense. I can go down to the shops myself. I know how often that train runs late and we can’t risk you not arriving on time. You just leave it to me to sort the food out. I’m sure Winry will charge you more than enough for your check up to cover the cost of the food,”_ Granny told them and Ed could hear her smirk.

 

“That’s because she’s a-“ Ed started to say but Al cut him off.

 

“Thanks heaps, Granny. Give us a call either at General Mustang’s office or Miss Gracia’s home if something happens,” Al said, ignoring Ed’s scowl at being interrupted.

 

 _“I will do. You boys take care of yourselves; you hear? I know you’re definitely more injured than you’re letting on, Edward, and I don’t want either of you to come home with even more injuries,”_ Granny told them and Ed winced lightly. He hadn’t even thought about telling her he was hurt and now he realised that he probably should.

  
“I’m alright, Granny. I’m in a sling but that’s mainly to stop me from accidentally ripping stitches out and I have a small neck wound that’s covered with a bandage but other than that, I’m fine,” Ed tried his best to assure her but he could sense her disbelief over the end of the phone.

 

 _“Well you best make sure that you don’t come home with more injuries than those, you hear me?”_ Granny asked and Ed nodded before remembering she couldn’t see him. He heard the Lions snigger in his head and realised he hadn’t heard much from them since his and Al’s first discussions about pranking Mustang. He filed that away to ask about later.

 

“I hear you,” Ed said.

 

“I’ll do my best to keep him out of trouble, Granny,” Al promised, causing Ed to roll his eyes once more.

 

 _“You’re just as likely to get in trouble as he is,”_ Granny groused before sighing. _“The two of you best be calling Winry now. She has a break near this time so she’ll be able to talk with you a little longer. I’ll see you in two days, boys. Keep yourselves safe.”_ They exchanged goodbyes and Ed hung up the phone before summoning the strength to call the next number.

 

“You know you have to, brother,” Al pointed out and Ed groaned.

 

“I know, I know,” Ed grumbled, dialling Garfiel’s number and holding the phone so the both of them could hear it ring.

 

_“Garfiel’s Automail. This is Garfiel speaking.”_

 

“Hey, Garfiel. This is Edward and Alphonse Elric. We were wondering if we could speak with Winry, if it isn’t any inconvenience?” Ed asked.

 

_“Winry’s on her break so it’ll be no problem for her to talk with you. Please hold on while I transfer the call to the other phone and let her know you’re on the line.”_

 

“Thank you,” Al said before they heard a click, telling them they’d been transferred. They did have to wait another couple of minutes before someone picked up. Ed and Al assumed it was because Garfiel had to actually walk to Winry’s workshop to tell her.

 

 _“Edward Elric, I swear that if you’re calling me to tell me you broke my precious automail_ again _, I will kill you myself!”_ Ed pulled the phone away from his and Al’s ears as the sudden change in noise level had them wincing in pain.

 

“Would you relax, you harpy?!” Ed snapped. “I didn’t break _my_ automail, thank you very much!” Al snatched the phone away from him completely before Winry could respond to that. Ed could still hear the conversation though since Al didn’t move away from him.

 

“Winry, it’s Alphonse. Brother’s telling the truth; he hasn’t broken or damaged his automail,” Al told her. Ed could actually hear her scoff.

 

 _“Well, he never calls me for any other reason!”_ Winry grumbled.

 

“I know and I’ve been trying to get him to call more often but you know what Brother’s like,” Al said, wincing as Ed punched him lightly in the arm.

 

 _“That’s true. Why are you both calling me now?”_ Winry asked, sounding much calmer.

 

“We’re heading back to Resembool the day after tomorrow and Edward realised it’s nearly time for his automail check-up so we were hoping you might be able to meet us in Resembool? If you can’t take the time off, we can travel to Rush Valley but not for a few days. Brother and I have to go and see our doctor a couple of days after we get back from Resembool,” Al explained to her.

 

 _“Why are you and your brother going to see doctors, Alphonse Elric?!”_ Winry demanded, causing Al to wince. Ed grinned smugly, knowing it wasn’t just him the witch did that too.

 

“I was attacked a couple of days ago and Brother fought against the person who framed General Mustang. Neither one of us were hurt severely but the doctor still wanted us to come in for a check-up a week after our release,” Al told her and Ed heard her sigh.

 

 _“Hold on while I go and talk to Garfiel. It shouldn’t be a problem since I have a new set of automail I want Edward to test for me and he knows I’ll be on the train the next day,”_ Winry told him before Ed heard a soft thud as Winry placed the phone on a nearby surface.

 

“Told you she would yell,” Ed said smugly and Al rolled his eyes at him.

 

“She always yells at you,” Al pointed out. “She’s right, though. You really should try calling her and Granny more than just when you need something. They worry about us,” Al said and Ed’s grin disappeared.

 

“I know, Al. it’s just hard calling them. I normally can’t talk about my missions with them because some of them are classified and the others are ones that are dangerous and I don’t want them to worry even more about us, especially now that you’re not a nearly indestructible suit of armour,” Ed told him and Al nodded in understanding.

 

“I know that, Brother, but will you still try to call them at least once a month?” Al asked and Ed sighed once more.

 

“I can promise I’ll try,” Ed compromised and Al nodded in acceptance.

 

“That’s all we ask, Ed,” Al said before his attention was grabbed by a noise on the phone line.

 

 _“Garfiel’s agreed to give me four days off, though if nothing happens with the new set of automail – which it shouldn’t – I’ll head back to Rush Valley the day after I fit them onto Ed,”_ Winry told him.

 

“That’s great. Like I said before, we’ll be catching the train to Resembool the day after tomorrow,” Al told her and Winry hummed a confirmation on the other end of the line. “Will you thank Garfiel for us, please?” Al asked.

 

 _“Of course I will, Al. I’ll see you guys in a couple of days,”_ Winry said. _“Tell your brother I’ll kill him if he damages my automail before then.”_

 

“I will. See you soon, Winry,” Al said before hanging up the phone and turned to his brother. “I’m sure you heard her, Ed. No breaking your automail,” Al wagged a finger at him that Ed batted away.

 

“Shut up,” Ed snapped without any heat, causing Al to laugh. “I suppose we should go out and tell the other’s about the plan,” Ed said, not making any move to get out of the chair.

 

“Yeah, we probably should,” Al agreed even though he also showed no signs of moving.

 

“Or,” Ed said, leaning forward, “I can tell you the idea that Red and I came up with while you were talking to Winry about how I can get Mustang back for promoting me,” Ed told him and Al grinned.

 

“I think we should definitely do that first,” Al agreed. 

* * *

 

Hawkeye made her way down to the holding cells by herself. Once Edward and Alphonse had emerged from the inner office, trying to contain their trouble-making grins – which Hawkeye had ignored, trusting the two of them had listened to her warnings – she asked Ed for permission to go and pay Mustang a visit. She’d almost chuckled at the way Ed had jolted at her seeking permission; obviously he had forgotten he was technically still in charge. He’d given it but had hesitated when she said she wanted to go by herself.

 

She knew Ed was only worried that her injuries might flare up and cause her problems but she knew she would be able to get to the cells with no problems. Eventually, Ed had granted her request but only when she had promised that if she felt she wouldn’t be able to get to the cells under her own power that she would find the nearest phone and call for assistance. It had rubbed her the wrong way to make that promise in front of the others since she didn’t like admitting there was a possibility of her being weak but Ed had relaxed immensely when she’d done so and though she’d never admit it out loud, she would do a lot to make sure Edward didn’t carry any more stress than he absolutely needed too.

 

“Captain Hawkeye, it’s good to see you up and about,” the soldier manning the sign-in desk greeted as he saluted.

 

“At ease, Sergeant,” Hawkeye said, waving his salute away. “Thank you for your concern. I’m here to see General Mustang,” Hawkeye informed him and the sergeant nodded, pushing the sign-in sheet towards her.

 

“Of course, Captain. Is it just you this visit?” He asked as he glanced at the entrance, like he expected Ed or someone else to walk through it.

 

“Yes, it’s just me this visit,” Hawkeye confirmed, handing the sheet back and surrendering her recovered weapons to the man.

 

“Very well. Please follow Sergeant Ryan to the cell in question, Captain,” the sergeant requested, gesturing to the guard who had appeared to escort her.

 

“Thank you, sergeant,” Hawkeye said, dipping her head slightly before giving Ryan a nod to take the lead.

 

The walk down the corridor was spent in silence between the two soldiers, though some of the occupants in the other cells awaiting transfer to the prison jeered as they walked past. Both Hawkeye and Ryan paid them no mind. They finally arrived at the cell Mustang was sitting in and the man in question looked up in shock at seeing Hawkeye before schooling his expression. Hawkeye noted the bruise on the right side of Mustang’s jaw and found her own jaw clenching tightly at the sight of the yellowing wound.

 

“Would you please unlock the cell so I can enter, Sergeant Ryan?” Hawkeye asked. Ryan did as he was asked before locking it behind Hawkeye when she entered. He’d heard the stories from his fellow soldiers about what the Fullmetal Alchemist had threatened when he’d been refused and no one was idiotic enough to deny the formidable Captain Hawkeye.

 

“It’s good to see you, Captain Hawkeye. I’m glad you’re alright,” Mustang said, as soon as the guard had moved away to give them some privacy.

 

“Thank you, Sir. It’s good to see you as well,” Hawkeye told him honestly. Being in the holding cell for nearly a week hadn’t done the normally well-maintained general any favours but all things considered, he didn’t seem like he’d need anything more than a hot shower and some comfortable clothing to recover completely. She did note that his wrists were still rubbed red but he hadn’t broken any skin thanks to the restraints so he wouldn’t need any first-aid for them. “I see you’ve managed to gain an injury of your own, Sir,” Hawkeye commented, gesturing to her own jaw and she saw genuine guilt and remorse flash in his eyes.

 

“Yes, I found myself on the receiving end of one of Fullmetal’s fists. I assure you, Captain Hawkeye, that it was a well-deserved punch,” Mustang told her, obviously unaware that she had already been told about what had transpired between him and Edward when the blonde had broken the news that she had been kidnapped.

 

“Oh, I am well aware, Sir,” Hawkeye informed him, allowing her disapproval to be heard in her voice. Mustang flinched slightly at her tone. “I imagine that you have already been made aware of how atrocious your words were by numerous sources and I am aware of the fact that you have apologised profusely and genuinely to Edward so I will save my breath on a lecture and merely express my hope that you have learned your lesson about allowing your fear and grief to get the best of you when confronted by upsetting news.” Mustang looked both relieved and confused that he wasn’t going to be told off by her.

 

“I assure you, Captain, that I have learned my lesson and I will never allow myself to lash out as I did. To Fullmetal or anyone else, for that matter,” Mustang promised and Hawkeye nodded in satisfaction.

 

“I am pleased to hear that, Sir,” Hawkeye told him. “There is another reason for my presence here today. Two reasons, in fact. Have you heard anything about your case since Edward came to talk to you earlier today?” She asked.

 

“No, I haven’t. Has something happened?” Mustang asked, standing a little more alert than he had been.

 

“Yes. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes has found sufficient evidence linking former Major Belmont to the crimes you were charged with and he has found absolutely no evidence suggesting that you played any other role than as the scapegoat in her plans,” Hawkeye told him. She didn’t allow him the chance to ask the obvious. “You will not, however, be released until the paperwork Fuhrer Grumman has expedited ordering your release has been approved. He believes that will only take a day so it’s very likely that by this time tomorrow, Sir, you will once again be a free man.” Mustang looked relieved but also scoffed a little self-deprecatingly.

 

“I may be released but these accusations will stay with me for the remainder of my military career. You know as well as I do that innocent in the eyes of the law doesn’t always mean innocent in the eyes of the public,” Mustang reminded her and Hawkeye couldn’t argue against that. They had seen a few examples in their military career of soldiers and civilians alike being falsely accused of something but never being able to fully recover from their name being dragged through the mud, despite being found innocent in the eyes of the law.

 

“That may be true, Sir, but I believe that once Belmont’s trial is made public, the citizens will – for the main part – realise that you were an unfortunate victim of an insane woman’s revenge plan, as was I,” Hawkeye told him sincerely. “You will always have a portion of the public against you, as you know all too well, but I believe that the majority of the public opinion will be in your favour.” Mustang gave her a grateful smirk, though she could see that he didn’t believe her completely.

 

“Thank you for your words, Captain. I hope you’ll be proven right,” Mustang said. There were a few moments silence before the alchemist broke it once more. “What was your other reason for being here today?” He asked and Hawkeye locked gazes with him.

 

“Why did you offer to teach Edward flame alchemy without discussing it with me in the first place?” Hawkeye asked and Mustang raised a brow.

 

“Do you not trust him to hold the secrets of flame alchemy?” Mustang countered, avoiding her question for the moment.

 

“Of course I do. That is not what I asked though, General Mustang, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t avoid my question,” Hawkeye told him bluntly. “I didn’t even know you were considering teaching his flame alchemy.”

 

“Honestly, I wasn’t. At least, I hadn’t been seriously considering it,” Mustang told her and she gave him a look that told him that that answer was not good enough. “I’ve been playing with the idea ever since our second mission for the Fuhrer. It’s been nothing more than a fleeting thought that I’ve barely entertained the few times it’s crossed my mind. However, after my first night locked in here and I realised there might be a very good chance I could facing a firing squad within a month, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want what I’d done with flame alchemy to be its legacy. I didn’t want the history books to tell future generations that flame alchemy had only ever been used for destruction and near-genocide.” Hawkeye looked a little stunned at this admission.

 

“But why Edward?” Hawkeye asked. “I trust Edward with my life and I am well aware that he is an alchemic genius and is one of the best-suited to being able to learn flame alchemy, let alone wield it but he’s reckless and he is famous across the whole of Amestris for having a short fuse. Do not,” Hawkeye held up her unbroken arm to cut off whatever Mustang had been about to say, “misunderstand me, General Mustang. I have given Edward my blessing for his lessons to continue and I have had him promise me that he is never to use flame alchemy outside of his lessons unless he has no other choice as well as find himself someone who can act as I do for you.” That surprised Mustang and he interrupted her before she could continue.

 

“What do you mean by you gave him your blessing?” Mustang asked and Hawkeye’s gaze narrowed dangerously as being interrupted, making Mustang suddenly grateful the sign-in desk required all weapons to be handed over.

 

“I mean that I saw him wearing a pair of your gloves while he was destroying the ropes to free me from the basement and he explained that you were teaching him. He then told me that in no uncertain terms that if I didn’t approve completely of this decision that he would hand the gloves over to me immediately and never learn flame alchemy. I knew he would do so and that my refusal to let him learn wouldn’t affect our relationship but I decided to allow it,” Hawkeye informed him and Mustang wasn’t surprised to hear that. He knew Ed would have sought out Hawkeye’s approval before he agreed to lessons outside of the one they’d already had, especially since Edward knew about Hawkeye’s tattoo and the request she had made of Mustang and why. “What I wish to know, Sir, is why _you_ decided Edward was the one to entrust my father’s life’s work too,” Hawkeye said, eyes telling him exactly what would happen if he tried to avoid answering this question.

 

“You’re correct, of course, Captain Hawkeye,” Mustang said. “Edward is reckless and short-tempered. He’s brash, he doesn’t usually think things through, he’s likely to throw a punch before asking questions and sometimes, he’s irresponsible.” Hawkeye didn’t look impressed with his defence for why he chose Edward so far. “But he is also loyal, brave, has a brilliantly strategic mind when he puts it to use and he is the one of us most likely to sacrifice themselves for someone else. As you said, he is an alchemic genius but he is also a genius in the broadest definition,” Mustang told her.

 

“I could have chosen Alphonse as he is everything I just said, just in different levels to Edward, however Alphonse hasn’t seen my alchemy used against someone firsthand.” Hawkeye opened her mouth, likely to disprove his point but he held a hand up to stop her and she obediently did as she was asked. “I know he witnessed me kill Lust but he hasn’t been there as my flames killed a human. He hasn’t made a call that he knew would lead to someone’s death, like Edward did with Thomas Harding, and Alphonse has not taken a life himself, as Edward did with Hagger.” Mustang still wasn’t done.

 

“Edward has done all of those things and I trust him to never allow himself to be used as I was during the Ishvalen Civil War. You and I both know that Edward has never followed orders unless he wanted to and that those orders he hadn’t wanted to follow; he’d done so but he did in a way where he got the desired result without actually following the given orders. We also both know that he would never reveal the secrets, even if he was being tortured.” Both Hawkeye and Mustang took a moment to silently pray that that would never happen. “I trust Edward completely with my teachings. He has already promised to not tell Al anything about the lessons if I didn’t allow him too and we both also know that Edward would die before he willingly broke a promise,” Mustang told her before allowing silence to fall between the two of them while Hawkeye allowed herself to absorb everything Mustang had just said.

 

“Thank you for answering my question, General. As I already said, I have given Edward my blessing to learn flame alchemy from you. I do not harbour any doubts that he will prove anything other than being a quick study and I trust him completely to keep his word to me,” Hawkeye told him and Mustang nodded in agreement.

 

“I imagine he will be a master of flame alchemy in less time than either of us think,” Mustang said. “Is there anything else you wish to ask or report, Captain Hawkeye?” Mustang asked after a few moments of no one speaking.

 

“Edward and Alphonse have spoken to Pinako and Winry Rockbell and organised to travel out to Resembool with the consultants in order to organise their route home and so that Miss Rockbell will be able to check over Edward’s automail, as it is due for a check-up. They plan on leaving the day after tomorrow. They don’t think the consultants will be staying more than a night at the Rockbell residence so I believe they plan on leaving after Edward’s check-up so they should only be gone for three days. Edward and Alphonse have also told me that Pinako Rockbell is prepared for yourself and I to accompany them to Resembool, if we decide too,” Hawkeye reported and Mustang was a little surprised that Edward was voluntarily allowing him to stay at his adopted grandmother’s home while he and Al were there.

 

“Hopefully, I will be released by the time they’re ready to leave. I would like the opportunity to say goodbye and thank you to the consultants without there being a set of bars in between us,” Mustang said a little drily. Hawkeye looked a little sympathetic.

 

“As I said, Sir, hopefully you will be released by this time tomorrow,” Hawkeye repeated and Mustang nodded. “I best be going, General Mustang. The office doesn’t stop just because you aren’t there,” Hawkeye told him and Mustang smirked.

 

“Ah, yes, how _has_ Fullmetal been enjoying my job? Does he understand my plight with paperwork yet?” Mustang asked, almost grinning at the thought of Hawkeye telling him that Edward was struggling with the paperwork while leaving enough time to investigate.

 

“Actually, Edward has proven himself immensely capable of juggling paperwork and his other duties. Even while I was indisposed, he and the team managed to stay on top of it while searching for me and Belmont,” Hawkeye told him. She neglected to mention the little fact that Fuhrer Grumman had redirected as much of the paperwork as he could a couple of times, easing Ed’s burden a bit. Hawkeye didn’t believe that piece of information was important. Mustang scowled and Hawkeye held back an amused smile. Hopefully the general would be even more motivated to get his paperwork done in a timely manner. “If there isn’t anything else, General Mustang, I best be getting back,” Hawkeye repeated.

 

“Yes, of course. Hopefully the next time I see you, Captain Hawkeye, it will be this time tomorrow in my office,” Mustang said, looking a little unsure whether that would actually happen.

 

“We hope so as well, Sir,” Hawkeye said, saluting him for the first time today. Mustang waved the salute away and Hawkeye called for Sergeant Ryan to let her out. “Goodbye, Sir,” Hawkeye said once the cell door was closed once more, leaving Mustang as the only occupant in the cell.

 

“Goodbye, Captain,” Mustang said in return, watching his captain walk away from him before he sat heavily on his cot. His head spun with the knowledge that he could be out of this cell within the next day and for the first time in nearly a week, Mustang felt himself relax, knowing this nightmare may well soon come to an end. 

* * *

 

It didn’t take Hawkeye long to get back to the office after collecting her weapons and signing herself out of the building. Her feet were aching and she knew she would need to sit down for a while to give them time to recover. Her doctor had warned her against staying on her feet for long periods of time and had wanted her on bed rest at night. She was looking forward to heading back to her apartment tonight. Rebecca had been delighted to hear she would be home tonight and after a small talk, she had agreed to stay with her so she could walk Hayate for her until she was fully recovered.

 

“Hey, Miss Riza,” Ed greeted when she walked into the office. The blonde alchemist looked relieved to see her, as did many of the other office occupants, and she felt warmth in her chest as she realised they had been worried for her. She did notice that there were a few of them missing.

 

“Hello, Edward,” she said back as she took her seat. “Where are our missing team members?” She asked.

 

“Oh, Havoc and JJ are taking Lieutenant-Colonel Granger’s case files back to her and Falman, Morgan, Rossi and Fuery are taking Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ case files back to him. They should be back soon,” Ed told her. “How’d your chat with Mustang go?” He asked curiously.

 

“It went well. I only needed to discuss a few things with him. He’s aware of his impending release and the plans you’ve made to head to Resembool. Of course, it will be Fuhrer Grumman’s decision as to whether General Mustang and myself will be allowed to accompany you and the others to Resembool,” Hawkeye told him and Ed nodded. He’d expected something like that. “What were your plans this afternoon, Edward?” Ed had not expected that however, and judging from their faces, none of those still in the office had expected the question either.

 

“Uh, kinda planned on hanging out here until knock-off time then maybe going out to one of the restaurants for dinner,” Ed told her, sounding a little unsure. Had she asked because they’d already discussed doing something today and he’d forgotten? That did sound like him.

 

“Why don’t you and Alphonse take the BAU agents on a tour of Central? They’ve only seen the base and a select few locations because of the case. The team and I can hold down the fort here while you’re out,” Hawkeye suggested and Ed and Al shared a stunned look. Ed could even feel the Lions surprise. They may not have met Hawkeye in real life but they’ve seen enough from Ed’s memories and through his eyes that they knew her suggesting that Ed leave the office for nearly the whole afternoon to show people around was unheard of.

 

“Sure. If they want to go on a tour that is?” Ed looked at the BAU agents still in the room.

 

“I don’t see why the others wouldn’t want to,” Hotch told him after exchanging a look with Reid and Prentiss, both of whom had shrugged or nodded.

 

“Alright. We’ll wait for the others then head out,” Ed said decisively. “Are you just going to go home once you’ve finished here for the day or did you guys want to join us for dinner?” Ed asked.

 

“I don’t know about the others but I’ll be going straight home. I promised Rebecca I would be and I’d like to see Black Hayate,” Hawkeye told him. “Thank you for the offer though, Edward,” she said, giving him a warm smile.

 

“You’re welcome, Miss Riza,” Ed said, smiling back at her before looking at Breda. “What about you?” He asked but Breda shook his head.

 

“Sorry, big man, but I plan on catching up on my sleep tonight since the investigation is over now,” Breda told him, a little apologetic.

 

“That’s alright,” Ed beamed at him. “I’ll see if the others want to go but we’ll see.” Ed shrugged before leaning over into his brother’s space and engaging him into a quiet conversation while they waited for the three missing BAU agents and three missing Amestrian team members to arrive back in the office. 

* * *

 

In the end, the other Amestrians – with the exception of Havoc – begged off the excursion. Hawkeye hadn’t looked impressed when Havoc accepted the invite Ed gave him but when he mentioned that they would probably need a driver to get to various places around town, the disapproving glare disappeared. In fact, Hawkeye even called the office that supervised the assignment of military cars and drivers to book a car for Ed’s use, though she did have to specify that there was no need for them to supply a driver as well a couple of times. Once she was finished with that phone call, Ed, Al, Havoc and the BAU agents left the office with assurances that they’d be fine and that they would see the others bright and early in the morning. Hawkeye had called Ed and Al’s names before they disappeared and told them in no uncertain terms that she would see the two of them bright and early _after_ they had spent the night at Gracia’s.

 

The first place Ed and Al had decided to take them to was to the State Alchemists Library. It had been rebuilt by order of the late Fuhrer King Bradley shortly after Lust and Gluttony had destroyed in an attempt to stop the two brothers from learning the secrets of the Philosopher’s Stone. It had taken years for the library to be completely built and restocked with as many alchemic texts as the military could find or have donated to it and even now it still wasn’t fully stocked.

 

“Wait, so if the building was destroyed to prevent you from finding Doctor Marcoh’s research, how come you know about it?” JJ asked, interrupting Ed as he was telling them the story.

 

“That’s actually how we met Miss Sheska,” Ed told her, not at all annoyed by the interruption. They were all standing or sitting on the steps of the library, keeping their voices low so they didn’t disrupt anyone around them. Reid had been a little putout when Ed had broken the news that he wouldn’t be able to actually go inside the building at look at all the books because of the strict rule that only State Alchemists were permitted inside. Alphonse had actually been granted a special pass by Fuhrer Grumman because the rule had become so strict that the soldier guarding the library had forbidden Al entry the first time they tried to go inside after he was released from hospital.

 

“You know that Miss Sheska has a photographic memory,” Al said and the team nodded. “Well, when we arrived in Central after Ed has him arm fixed after our first scuffle with Scar, we arrived at the original First Branch with Major Armstrong only to discover it had been burned to the ground. We had thought we lost our only guaranteed chance of finding the information we needed on how to make our own Philosopher’s Stone and that we would have to resort to hunting down every whispered rumour and obscure text to try and find it,” Al told them and Ed took over.

 

“While we were coming to terms with that, Miss Maria and Brosh arrived on the scene to take over guard duty of us since I was still technically under protection because of Scar,” Ed explained. “After Major Armstrong left to resume his own duties, Miss Maria informed us of a woman she’d heard was an ex-employee of the library when she overheard us talking about the loss of information. When she offered to introduce us, we said yes and the two of them drove us to her home.” Al took up telling the story once more.

 

“When we entered her home, there were millions of books everywhere! All stacked in massive piles on every surface she could manage!” Al exclaimed and Morgan nudged Reid teasingly, causing the young agent to roll his eyes. “We started walking carefully through the stacks of books, trying to find Miss Sheska when Ed and I heard something. When we listened closely, we realised we were hearing someone calling for help from under a collapsed pile of books. Once we rescued them, we realised it was Miss Sheska,” Al told them.

 

 _“I’m surprised that hasn’t happened to you or your brother yet,”_ Yellow commented, causing the other Lions to laugh at Ed’s indignation so the blonde retaliated by mentally sticking his tongue out at them.

 

 _“Mature,”_ Black said flatly and Ed rolled his eyes before picking up the story once more.

 

“After we managed to get her to stop thanking us every couple of words, we asked whether she remembered seeing any research belong to a Doctor Timothy Marcoh in the library. She told us that she had recalled seeing them and said that it stuck in her mind more than it ordinarily would’ve because they were handwritten notes hidden amongst printed texts,” Ed said, having taken over the story again. “We almost walked out of her place after that, since she had just confirmed that the notes had burned along with the rest of the library but then she asked if we would like her to tell us what was in the notes. That’s when she explained that she had a  photographic memory. I hired her to write out the notes exactly as she remembered them so that Al and I could study them and she was happy to help,” Ed went on to say.

 

“It took her a few days but she finely managed to write them all out for us and we headed to the base to study the notes. They were coded so first we had to crack the code, which took us ten days, but before we managed that, Miss Sheska came to visit us to thank us. She had used the money Ed had paid her to move her mother into a better and more comfortable hospital and she wanted us to know how grateful she was,” Al told them.

 

“Is that why she thought she owes you and Edward?” JJ asked, recalling what Sheska had said when the BAU first met the bespectacled woman.

 

“No,” Ed answered before Al could. “While Miss Sheska was talking with us when we were in the middle on cracking Marcoh’s code, Hughes turned up. He’d apparently decided to pay us a visit and see how we were going with the code.” No one missed the way Ed’s voice hitched when he said Hughes’ name but they didn’t say anything. “He was lamenting about how Investigations had suffered a major loss when the library burned as the majority of their case files were stored in there. I asked Miss Sheska if she’d ever read them and she told us she’d read them all and remembered every word in them. Hughes hired her on the spot as his secretary so she could rewrite the case files. Miss Sheska is still under the impression that she owes Al and I for Hughes hiring her,” Ed finished telling them the story.

 

“You know, it’s still creepy when the two of you two that, right?” Morgan asked, gesturing to the two brothers and causing everyone to laugh at him. Even the Lions were chuckling in Ed’s head.

 

“Our goal in life is to creep you out,” Ed told him with a grin that had Morgan rolling his eyes at the blonde and reaching over to ruffle his hair but Ed danced out of his reach before he could do so.

 

“Are you sure we can’t go inside, just for a little bit?” Reid asked, looking longingly at the building.

 

“Sorry, Reid,” Ed apologised, feeling a little guilty. Morgan had no issues with wrapping the youngest BAU agent in a rough, one armed hug and ruffling his hair.

 

“You’ll survive, pretty boy,” Morgan said as Reid struggled to get out of his grip. Morgan released him suddenly and Reid was sent stumbling a couple of steps only to be steadied by Prentiss.

 

“Where to next, chief?” Havoc asked and Ed thought for a moment.

 

“Let’s go see the new crime lab,” Ed said decisively. Havoc nodded in agreement and they all headed back to the car. Morgan jokingly dragged Reid along and despite his eyeroll, the younger agent let him do so with only a token protest. The others chuckled at their antics as they climbed back into the car and soon were heading to their next destination. 

* * *

 

“So, how come you decided to show us this place?” Prentiss asked after a few minutes of mindless chatter, causing Ed to turn around in his seat next to Havoc to answer.

 

“Well, I’ve been wanting to come down here and check on their progress for ages but also to show you where Al and I first came face to face with the homunculi, if you don’t count Bradley since we didn’t know he was one, and first learned about the plot against us and the whole of Amestris,” Ed told her.

 

“We’re here, chief,” Havoc announced as he pulled up alongside the curb.

 

Ed glanced at the building as he climbed out of the car, holding the door open so Al could slip out next to him. Both the lab and the prison beside it had been destroyed or damaged after his fight with Lust and Envy. Thankfully, none of the prisoners had been able to escape when the jail was damaged but because of the amount of damage and the lengthy repair time, all of the prisoners had been relocated to other prisons in Central. A few had even been sent to prisons in West and East city once the other prisons ran out of room.

 

What had remained of the Fifth Laboratory had been bulldozed and the debris cleared. After a large debate, Bradley had declared that there weren’t enough funds to rebuild the lab or fix the prison and had ordered the site to be cleared and the prison closed until the funds for reconstruction could be found. The coup had happened before the site could be dealt with but Grumman had ordered the prison to be torn down, redesigned and rebuilt so that any routes that they hadn’t uncovered that had linked the prison to the laboratory would be destroyed. Construction on the new crime lab had begun once construction on the new prison had started.

 

The prison itself had been finished and was only waiting for the final checks and approval before it could be opened and used once more. The new crime lab’s construction had taken far longer since there was far more to be built for it than the prison. Ed and the others couldn’t see anyone working on the outside of it so Ed was under the impression that all the work they needed to do now was the interior stuff, like installing the equipment for crime technicians and whatnot.

 

“So, what was the story here?” Hotch asked and both Ed and Al chuckled a little.

 

“After we cracked the code and uncovered the key ingredient we would need to make a Philosopher’s Stone, Miss Maria and Brosh escorted us back to our hotel room. We told them what that ingredient was but asked them to keep it themselves. Major Armstrong managed to get it out of them and he barged into our hotel room to talk with us,” Ed told them, shuddering a little at the memory. “He actually helped us figure out where they could possibly be running the experiments without anyone knowing about it. He then warned us not to do anything and leave it to him to investigate. Naturally, we snuck out of the hotel room that night and headed for the lab.”

 

 _“Why are we not surprised?”_ Blue asked resignedly as the other Lions laughed at them.

 

“Of course you did,” Hotch said, completely unsurprised by what Ed had just told them. The rest of the BAU chuckled but then urged Ed on to tell them the rest.

 

“Immediately, we were suspicious. Armstrong had told us that the lab had been declared structurally unsound and therefore wasn’t in use but there was a guard stationed at the front entrance and every other entrance was boarded up. Al and I managed to get over the barbed wall without using alchemy and went to investigate our options on how we could get inside,” Ed told them. Havoc, having already heard this story, was leaning against the car and enjoying a cigarette. “Finally, Al and I came to the conclusion that we couldn’t alchemise our way in because the light and sound of the transmutation would attract the guard out front and that there was no way that we could rip the boards off the door without the guard hearing so the only other way was through the vent next to the door. Al was too big to fit in there so I had to go in by myself, which is why he didn’t face the homunculi with me,” Ed continued saying but stopped when he saw the confused looks on the BAU’s faces, the only exception being Reid. Havoc and Al looked shocked and Ed replayed what he’d just said in his head before paling considerably.

 

“It’s okay, Brother,” Al soothed as soon as he realised Ed had realised what he’d said.

 

 _“You’re alright, Ed. It’s okay,”_ Green soothed. The other Lions sent calming feelings down through their bond and Ed tried to let the feeling help.

 

“What do you mean Al was too big? He’s barely bigger than you in any form,” Morgan asked, chuckling a little.

 

“Leave it, Morgan,” Reid hissed before shooting Ed a worried look. Al had basically blocked his brother from view and started walking Ed a small distance away from the group. Havoc had looked like he wanted to follow but was holding himself back to give the two some privacy.

 

“Sorry, Al,” Ed whispered once he got over his shock. The Lions were still doing their best and trying to act as a balm for his inner panicking self.

 

“You don’t need to apologise, Ed. I understand,” Al said soothingly. They stood in silence for a few moments before Al decided to ask something. “Reid didn’t look confused like the others did at what you said. Why didn’t he?”

 

“After he and I left you when we got the sketch, we headed straight for Miss Riza’s apartment to collect her father’s personal journals,” Ed told him and Al nodded. He already knew this. “Well, while we were in there after Miss Rebecca left, he asked me whether I lost my arm and leg doing what we did. He’d put several small things I’d said and done together and figured it out so I told him everything that had happened that night,” Ed confessed. Al inhaled sharply and Ed winced. “I know I should’ve talked to you about telling him first but I –“ Al cut his brother off quickly before his rambling could get any worse.

 

“No, Ed, I’m not mad you told him. I’m actually glad you did,” Al revealed and Ed looked at him like he’d grown two heads, causing Al to chuckle. “Ed, you’ve only known those people for a few months. You’ve spent a grand total of a fortnight together, if that. It took you years to consider telling the team about the truth behind our injuries and you spent far more time with them,” Al told him and Ed still looked confused about why his telling Reid was a good thing. “Brother, it means you’re starting to trust more and more people outside of the team, me, Granny and Winry, and that’s a good thing! I don’t mind if Reid or any of them know because if you can tell them about _that_ then it means you trust them,” Al explained and Ed looked a little shocked. His younger brother was right, of course, but he’d never realised that himself.

 

Thinking about it now, he knew he trusted the BAU agents as much as he trusted his own team. Their first meeting may have had Ed and Mustang at the wrong end of six weapons but slowly and surely, that initial distrust had melted and changed into friendship. His feelings about the BAU agents had been solidified when he’d called them after being taken in by the NCIS team and they’d immediately dropped everything to drive from their headquarters to the NCIS one just to see him again and make sure he was alright. He felt the Lions mentally shake their heads at how long it had taken him to make that realisation.

 

“I can’t tell them,” Ed said. Al sighed a little, like he’d expected that answer.

 

“Ed, if you’re holding back from them because you think I won’t agree, you’re wrong,” Al told him before realising Ed was shaking his head.

 

“No, I – I think I _want_ to tell them but I can’t tell them here,” Ed said, glancing around them. “I can’t tell them the truth where anyone can overhear us and I can’t tell them now. It was easier telling Reid because we were the only ones there and I didn’t really plan on telling him so I just kinda blurted it all out but now that I’m even considering telling the others, I need time to – I just need some time,” Ed whispered, looking down at the ground in shame and frustration.

 

“Hey, Brother, you know no one – especially me – is gonna be upset with you if you don’t end up telling them about what happened or even if you just ask Reid to tell the others when they go back to America. I know how hard it is for you to talk about that night with me or with Winry or anyone else for that matter. I hate talking about that night as well but maybe it would be good for you – for us – to start opening up about it to more people we trust,” Al said and Ed sighed deeply.

 

 _“Al’s right, you know,”_ Black told him. _“You managed to tell me and Shiro after only a few days, and unknowingly tell my sisters as well, and I can’t tell you how honoured Shiro and I were to know that you trusted us enough to let us in so much that you could tell us about that night, and your other nightmares. If you think you can trust the other BAU agents as much as you trust Reid, myself and Shiro, then you should tell them but there is no shame if you can’t tell them while they’re here. It’s always possible that you’ll see them again so you could tell them then,”_ Black pointed out and Ed felt the other Lions agree with her.

 

“Maybe,” Ed said in answer to both Black and Alphonse, still uncertain but he shook his head to clear it of those thoughts. “Come on, we should go back over there before they worry even more about us,” Ed said, jerking his chin towards the group. Al gave him a look that had Ed rolling his eyes a little. “I’ll think about it, I promise,” Ed said and Al seemed slightly mollified by that.

 

“Alright, let’s head back than,” Al said, nodding. Soon enough, both boys were back with the main group.

 

“Ed, we didn’t mean to upset you,” Morgan said as soon as the boys were close enough but Ed shook his head.

 

“Don’t worry about it. You didn’t know that asking that would upset me so don’t worry about it,” Ed said, giving them a smile. None of the five agents who didn’t know about Ed’s past looked convinced that they shouldn’t be worried but they let it go for now.

 

“What happened after you went through the vent, Ed?” JJ asked, hoping to get them off the topic of Ed’s almost-freak out.

 

“Right,” Ed said, clearing his throat a little before continuing, “so I crawled through the vent until I found an opening inside and dropped down from it and that’s when I realised that there lights on, running along the bottom of the corridor walls, which told me immediately that this laboratory wasn’t as abandoned as everyone was led to believe,” Ed told them. “Al can tell you what happened to him outside after I tell you what happened to me inside,” Ed said, figuring there would be questions about that shortly.

 

“Alright,” Hotch said in agreement, obviously having been wanting to ask about that at some point.

 

“I followed the lights down a random hallway and found a massive room with an array drawn right in the middle of it. Before I could study it properly, I was attacked. The people who had been studying the array and making the stones had also been experimenting with another transmutation that should’ve been impossible, unless, of course, you had a stone,” Ed huffed a little. “They started bonding souls of renowned serial killers to suits of armour to create near indestructible fighters. Their only weakness was a blood seal hidden somewhere in their armour that if damaged, even slightly, would destroy the soul bound to the armour.” Only two of the agents looked appropriately horrified by the mention of soul-bonded armour and those were JJ and Morgan. Reid, of course, knew because of what Ed had told him but Ed had no clue why Prentiss, Hotch and Rossi didn’t look shocked to hear that.

 

“When we originally interviewed Fuhrer Grumman with Lieutenant Ross, she explained her role in the fight and had told us about the souls of serial killers being bonded to the armour,” Hotch explained when he realised why Ed was looking at him questioningly. Ed made a silent ‘ah’ before continuing with his story.

 

“The armour I fought was actually two souls. One was bonded to the body of the armour and the other to the helmet. I didn’t know this of course, so when I managed to separate the helmet from the rest of it, I thought I had won the fight. Of course, I didn’t and had to fight the second soul. I ended up winning by deconstructing part of his armour so it couldn’t support itself but I was badly hurt by that stage. The souls – a pair of brothers who were known as the ‘Slicer Brothers’ – were going to tell me everything but their seals were destroyed by the homunculi, Lust and Envy,” Ed told them. “I found out Al and I were sacrifices then but I couldn’t do anything. I fought Envy but he had the distinct advantage of not being injured and being able to heal himself from any injury with the stone that was his life force. They knocked me out and from what I was told, Envy blew up the building before getting me back to Al. I woke up in hospital after that,” Ed told them, before looking at Al to tell his story.

 

“After Brother left me to stand guard, I was alone for maybe five minutes before I was attacked myself,” Al revealed. “Another soul bonded to armour had been on the roof and confronted me. This soul belonged to a serial killer who was known as ‘Barry the Butcher’ and he was very upset that I’d never heard of him,” Al chuckled at the memory. “The noise from our initial confrontation drew the attention of the guard and he was killed before I could do anything to save him,” Al sounded upset but continued talking before anyone could say anything. “Barry and I fought almost the entire time Edward was inside the building. He used a psychological manipulation attack against me as well but then Miss Maria and Brosh were there. Miss Maria fired a shot at Barry but before we could do anything else, the building exploded. Barry escaped in the confusion but he was caught later on. We didn’t know who he was at the time, but Envy brought Ed out of the building before it managed to collapse completely and we took him straight to the hospital. We only found out Envy was a homunculous when Ed woke up and told us what happened,” Al finished talking at that point.

 

“You two don’t do things by halves, do you?” Morgan asked, shaking his head a little.

 

“Not really, no,” Ed told him as the Lions nodded invisibly in agreement.

 

“So, if this is the new crime lab but had been the fifth laboratory, what’s going to be built where the old crime lab used to be?” Prentiss asked and Ed thought for a moment as he tried to remember.

 

“Didn’t Fuhrer Grumman say it was going to be another lab but it was going to be dedicated to advancing our technology rather than researching alchemy or being a crime lab?” Al asked and Ed nodded.

 

“That’s right. After my first visit to your country, I told Grumman all about it so he decided that rather than make the old crime lab another alchemic research lab, he would have it built to be solely dedicated to furthering our everyday things, like cameras and cars,” Ed told them. “It’s the first laboratory built that won’t have anything to do with alchemy research. It is likely that alchemy will be used to see if it could help the scientists with their experiments but alchemy won’t be the focus,” Ed divulged. He remembered how stunned the people of Central had been when Grumman had announced that.

 

“Garcia would’ve loved to give them some suggestions on how to improve your technology,” Prentiss said and Ed chuckled a little.

 

“I think Miss Penelope might be a bit _too_ advanced for them right now,” Ed told them, causing the BAU to grin amusedly.

 

“Yeah, you’re probably right there. Maybe next time we visit, you’ll be advanced enough to warrant her coming with,” Morgan said and Ed nodded.

 

“Hopefully. It would be nice seeing her again,” Ed said, mood falling a little, despite the Lions best efforts at stopping it from doing so.

 

“She misses you too. She was very upset when Truth told her she wouldn’t be going with us,” JJ told Ed, laying a comforting hand on his slinged arm gently.

 

“Though hopefully the next time you lot wind up here, one of us won’t be being framed by a nutcase and likely to face a firing squad,” Havoc said, only half-joking, but it was enough to break the almost somber mood that had threaten to overtake the group completely.

 

“Yes, that would be nice if that didn’t happen,” Rossi agreed.

 

“All done here, chief?” Havoc asked and Ed nodded before checking the time on his pocket watch.

 

“Probably would be best if we went to the shops now before dinner. That way we’re not rushing around to beat closing times,” Ed told them. Everyone seemed to be in agreement so they headed back to the cars.

 

None of the BAU had forgotten Ed’s slight panic but they also knew that if they pressured him into telling them what had caused it than not only would they get nowhere but they would likely lose a lot of the trust the blonde had in them and none of them wanted that. By mutual silent agreement, none of them decided to mention anything about it during the drive, content with listening to the chatter/banter between the three Amestrians that the Americans were sometimes drawn into. 

* * *

 

They spent nearly three hours shopping in the busy city centre before the majority of the group declared that they were hungry. After a small but heated debate about where to get dinner, they settled on a pub that Ed and Al had only been to once before but that Havoc was a regular patron at. The lieutenant had sworn up and down that they had the best hot chips in the city and that their chicken parmigiana was unbelievably good.

 

Ed and Al were content to leave Havoc in charge of escorting the group to the restaurant, following dutifully behind him and joking with the BAU as they walked. Ed and Al had both quietly agreed that they were immensely grateful that Winry wasn’t in Central with them because shopping with her was just as exhausting as shopping with JJ and Emily had been but the three women together would’ve been a force to be reckoned with. The Lions had roared with laughter when Al made the comment that they likely wouldn’t have survived the three women and Ed had wholeheartedly agreed with him.

 

Each person on the team were carrying at least one shoulder bag or something similar filled with their purchases. Reid’s was by far the biggest but that was mainly because it was filled almost completely with books he’d bought from the three bookstores they’d visited. Morgan and Prentiss had teased him about his reaction to the first book store but JJ had levelled them with a reprimanding glare that had them stop their teasing.

 

Prentiss and JJ had banded together to put a small bag together for Garcia but they did have some trouble finding things they thought the blonde technical analyst would like. In the end, they bought her some clothes were similar to her quirky style and small things like jewellery, hair accessories and ornaments they thought she’d like. Reid had shyly handed them a couple of books he thought Garcia would enjoy for their inspection and both women had given him a massive grin before adding them their purchases.

 

Hotch had bought a few things but Ed couldn’t help but notice that most of it was for a child and when he asked, Hotch had revealed that he had a young son, Jack, and apologising to Ed when the blonde had looked shocked and the older agent had realised it was because he had never mentioned him to Ed. Ed had waved off his apologies and asked for stories about him instead, which Hotch was happy to supply while they were walking to the next shop.

 

Rossi had bought himself a few cookbooks, which was how Ed found out about Rossi’s love of cooking, as well as some fancier clothing than what he was wearing now. Rossi almost hadn’t bought the suits because he didn’t want them crumpled in the bag but Morgan had reminded him that there was such a thing as a drycleaner. Rossi had appreciated the reminder but not the eyeroll that had accompanied it.

 

Morgan hadn’t bought a lot for himself since a lot of the things he normally did buy didn’t have an Amestrian equivalent but he did decide to buy some small gifts for his mother and sisters in Chicago. When prompted, Morgan had regaled Ed with as many stories about his childhood as he could think of before making a silent plea that Ed never meet his sisters when he realised a lot of his stories would embarrass them and they’d likely kill him if they ever found out he’d told someone about them.

 

Ed and Al were so busy talking with the BAU that they never noticed where they were until Ed happened to look around to figure it out. He almost stopped in shock when he realised they were near where Hughes had been murdered. When Al noticed his brother’s slight hesitation, he went to ask what was wrong but he figured it out before he did so. Both Elrics had avoided this area like the plague when they found out this was where Envy had killed him.

 

“What’s wrong, boys?” JJ asked when she noticed their sombre expressions.

 

“Hughes was killed near here,” Ed told her, shocking everyone with his revelation. They didn’t say anything else on the subject but Havoc did pick up the pace a little to get them out of the park quicker.

 

When they finally reached the pub Havoc had suggested, Ed and Al’s spirits had picked back up to where they had been before they realised where they’d been in the park, mainly thanks to Morgan starting a competition about who could tell the most embarrassing work-related stories about another person. Al had had to stop them from getting too rowdy so they wouldn’t get into trouble before they’d even had dinner.

 

They’d finally managed to get inside the pub and place their orders before being escorted to a table big enough for all of them to sit at with a reassurance from their waitress that their food wouldn’t take too long to come out. Ed and Havoc were footing the bill and had informed the agents that they didn’t mind because it was very likely they would be going out tomorrow for dinner to celebrate Mustang’s release and already had plans on making the man foot the entire bill, claiming he owed them for getting his arse out of prison. Al had rolled his eyes at his brother and Havoc but any argument he was going to make was lost when their drinks were delivered and soon they were passing the time with good food and good company. 

* * *

 

Rather than remaining in the office as she normally would’ve when Breda, Fuery and Falman bid her a good night, Hawkeye joined them in leaving since she didn’t have anything in the office she needed to do. Edward and the team had made certain that there would be nothing in the office left for her unless she was the only one who could do it. There hadn’t been much like that so she was well and truly able to go home with the others at their usual knock-off time.

 

Falman had offered to drive her to her apartment and her first instinct was to say no as the older man didn’t live near her and it didn’t take that long for her to reach her home on foot but she accepted the offer since she had promised her doctor that she would stay off her feet as much as she possibly could. The drive was done in silence and Hawkeye found herself in front of her building in nearly no time. Thanking Falman, she climbed out of the car and headed up the numerous flights of stairs before finally coming to a stop outside of her apartment.

 

“Riza!” Rebecca exclaimed, launching herself at her best friend when Hawkeye walked through the door. The blonde barely had the time to prepare herself for the force Rebecca would hit her with so they wouldn’t go crashing to the ground when she nearly tackled her. “I’m so happy you’re alright!” Rebecca was close to tears and Hawkeye found herself blinking back a couple as she returned the hug with equal ferocity.

 

Hawkeye had heard the familiar scrabble of nails on her wooden floor the moment she had entered her home but Rebecca had managed to reach her first. As she hugged Rebecca closely, she felt a familiar set of paws on her leg as Hayate tried to get her attention. When Rebecca finally released her from her bear hug, Hawkeye knelt down and Hayate sat, though the small black-and-white dog was nearly vibrating in his efforts to stay still as he had been trained.

 

“Good boy, Hayate,” Hawkeye said and with that, Hayate barrelled into her arms and she squeezed him almost as tightly as she had Rebecca. Looking up at Rebecca, she smiled. “It’s good to be home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos would be appreciated and loved!


	26. Chapter 26

Ed and Al kept their promise to Hawkeye about going back to Gracia’s to get some sleep after they finished eating with the BAU and Havoc. The dinner had lasted a couple of hours and by the time they’d finished their desserts, they still hadn’t run out of things to chatter about. Despite the fact that the BAU had shared a lot of stories with Ed during the course of their time together in New York and Washington D.C. with NCIS, they still managed to tell stories about cases that Ed hadn’t heard before.

 

Havoc, Ed and Al had entertained them with their fair share of stories from missions they’d been on to dating fails of Havoc’s to stories about Mustang’s early days in the military that Ed listened to with too much enthusiasm than what Al thought was warranted. Havoc told these stories with an almost manic glee when he realised Ed was listening with the intent to use the stories as potential blackmail or teasing material. Alphonse resigned himself to probably being an only child in the near future when Mustang snapped.

 

“We can just walk from the base, you know,” Ed said as they left the restaurant. “It’s not that far to walk to get to Miss Gracia’s,” Ed told them as they gathered around the car.

 

“Plus, you won’t have to go out of your way just to drop us off,” Al added but Havoc shook his head.

 

“It’s not that far out of the way and I’d prefer to be able to honestly back you up when Captain Hawkeye asks if you went back to the Hughes’,” Havoc informed him, causing Ed to scoff but the blonde lieutenant either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

 

“We know how much trouble the two of you manage to find when you’re by yourselves in public,” JJ said. “I know it would certainly make me feel better if we knew you got back home safely so please let Havoc drive you home?” JJ pleaded and Ed felt his resolve crumble. It was Al, however, who broke first.

 

“Alright, Miss JJ,” Al agreed and was rewarded with a blinding smile.

 

“Lovely,” the blonde BAU agent said, her tone tinged with something Ed thought was smugness at having won. Ed was just pleased to know that he wasn’t the only one who wasn’t immune to JJ’s pleading look.

 

The drive was spent in silence and it didn’t take them long to pull up in front of their destination, thanks to the fact there was barely any traffic. Ed and Al slipped out of the front seats and Hotch decided to claim their vacated seats as his, giving those in the back a bit more room.

 

“I’ll be in the office by 7:30am tomorrow,” Havoc promised the boys once he wound his window down so he could talk to them.

 

“We should be in by the same time,” Hotch told them and both Elrics nodded.

 

“We’ll see you tomorrow morning then,” Ed said.

 

“Goodnight, guys,” Alphonse smiled as he gave them all a wave goodbye.

 

“Goodnight, boys,” JJ smiled back as the others all bade them goodbye as well and Havoc drove off.

 

Ed and Al only headed into the house once the car had driven most of the way down the street and they’d practically lost sight of it. They headed up the stairs and soon found themselves in front of the door to Gracia’s house. There were no notes attached to it this time but Ed still decided to use his tracking array, just to make certain there were no unwanted visitors inside.

 

“It’s all clear,” Ed announced, letting the array go. He felt the Lions and Al’s sense of relief as he unlocked the door and led the way inside.

 

“You smell. You get to shower first,” Al said, shoving Ed towards the bathroom. “I’ll be in our room when you’re finished,” Al informed him.

 

Ed didn’t argue since the last time he did shower properly had been when he and Al had last returned to the house, the morning Hawkeye and Ed had gone to meet the generals to search Mustang’s place. The quick wash he’d had at the hospital didn’t count since he hadn’t been allowed to get his injuries wet for the first 24hours. Ed had to admit that the hot shower had done him a world of wonders. He got dressed in a pair of boxers and combed out his wet hair but didn’t bother putting his pajamas on since he needed Al to help him wrap his injuries in fresh bandages and check the stitches he couldn’t see himself.

 

“Oi,” Ed said, throwing a first aid kit at his brother, who caught it with ease. “You need to be my nurse,” Ed told him. Al rolled his eyes but opened the box.

 

“You could ask me a little nicer since I’m the once who decides how tightly to wrap these bandages,” Al said, tugging a tiny bit too hard on the bandage he was winding around the stitched gash on Ed’s arm to prove his point.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Ed mumbled, rolling his eyes. It didn’t take long for Al to finish his nurse duties and now it was Ed’s turn to shove his brother towards the bathroom. “You need to go for a shower as well. You don’t exactly smell like roses either, you know,” Ed teased. Al let out a bark of laughter before disappearing into the bathroom.

 

Since neither of them were tired, despite the events of the last few days and the fact that neither of them had gotten any good sleep since before Hawkeye was kidnapped and Al was assaulted, they went up to their room, grabbed an armful of unread books each and went back down to the lounge room.

 

 _“You really should be sleeping,”_ Blue pestered Ed for the tenth time since he and Al had settled on a couch each.

 

“I’m not tired and all I’d be doing in my room right now is staring at the ceiling and dying a slow, painful death of boredom,” Ed told her. “I’d much rather read myself into exhaustion.” He felt the Lions roll their eyes before Blue seemed to disappear for a moment.

 

 _“My pilot wishes for me to tell you that you should at least try and get some sleep so you don’t end up – and I quote – perpetually exhausted, like a certain mullet he could name,”_ Blue told him dutifully and Ed snorted indignantly.

 

“You went and tattled on me to Lance?!” He asked incredulously and he felt Blue’s mental equivalent of a shrug. He almost went on to say something when he felt Keith’s own indignation through Red. Evidently, it was so strong that Ed could feel it through his bond with Red, who felt it first-hand through her bond with her pilot.

 

Ed had to chuckle at this development, causing Al to raise his brow in amusement at Ed’s seemingly random laughter as the situation delved into Lance and Keith snarking at each other. Blue and Red keeping Edward in the loop by telling him what they were saying and passing along his own messages, much to the blonde’s delight.

 

 _“Shiro would like me to ask you politely to stop encouraging the Red and Blue pilots to fight with each other, even if it is just teasing.”_ Ed had his bond with the head of Voltron to thank for knowing that he hadn’t imagined the amusement in her tone when she had done as she was asked. Ed hadn’t exactly apologised but he did stay out of Lance and Keith’s next bantering session that started only a couple of minutes later when Keith had made a choice comment to Lance that set them off again.

 

 _“Hey, Ed, Pidge wants to know if there’s anything wrong with your tablet, if it’s still running smoothly or if there’s any improvements you can think of for it,”_ Green asked, effectively stealing Ed’s attention from the bantering match.

 

“I don’t know how she managed it but that tablet has managed to survive everything it’s accidentally gone through since I returned from my adventure with you guys,” Ed said, letting his awe bleed through the bond. “It’s come in handy a few times with Elysia. She really loves the movies, though she does get upset when we tell her that she can’t watch it with her friends,” Ed went on saying. “Other than that, the only thing I can think of wanting is a way to be able to send the Paladins and Alteans messages directly to their tablets so that I’m not always relying on you guys to act as messengers,” Ed told them, flushing with embarrassment as the Lions cooed at him.

 

Ed thought he felt a flash of hesitation then slight guilt from the Lions but he didn’t get the chance to linger on it when Green passed along a message from Pidge, promising to do what she could the next time she saw him. At that, he thought he felt a knowing smugness from the Lions but Hunk and Yellow had apparently taking this as their opportunity to badger Ed.

 

 _“Hunk wants to know if you’ve been eating well? Does he need to give you more recipes to try?”_ Yellow asked and Ed felt slightly sheepish.

 

“Actually, we’ve mostly been eating take-out, especially in the last few days,” Ed admitted and he could’ve sworn he heard Hunk’s outraged gasp through Yellow. “Well, it’s not like any of us really had the chance to cook when we were busy trying to find a serial killer, save Mustang’s arse, fighting against corrupt generals who were determined to use the judicial system for themselves and make sure no one tried to figure out where the BAU agents actually came from!” Ed said defensively and was slightly happy at the slightly guilty feeling he was now getting from Yellow.

 

 _“Sorry, Ed. Hunk says he’s sorry as well,”_ Yellow said, sounding so morose that Ed felt bad for defending himself.

 

“It’s alright. I know you guys are just worried about me and I appreciate it more than I’ll ever admit. I promise that once the BAU goes home and Miss Gracia and Elysia are back in Central, we’ll eat more home-cooked meals,” Ed swore before smiling softly. “I wouldn’t mind new recipes from Hunk, though,” he told them and Yellow laughed.

 

 _“He says that once everything has settled back down for you, he’ll give you more recipes to try,”_ Yellow told him and Ed grinned happily.

 

Ed was distracted from his conversations with the Lions and their Paladins by the sound of something thumping to the ground. Upon investigation, he found Al jerking himself back awake before blinking hugely. He watched his younger brother rub his tired eyes before he leaned down to pick up the book he’d apparently dropped before trying to resume his reading. Ed knew he had to put his foot down and send his younger brother to bed. The irony of Al being the sleep-deprived and stubborn brother while Ed was being the reasonable one was not lost on the older blonde alchemist.

 

“Come on, Al. You know you need to get some sleep when you almost damage a book because you’re too tired to hold onto it,” Ed said as he hopped up and started tugging on Al’s arm to get him to stand.

 

“’m n’t ti-“ Al yawned widely, “tired,” he said, blinking slowly as he tried to fight to stay awake.

 

“Sure you aren’t,” Ed laughed before he started walking Al up the stairs, placing his automail hand lightly on the centre of his brother’s back to push him lightly forwards.

 

Edward had to laugh once he finally managed to coax the over-tired Alphonse up the stairs and to his bed, especially when Al basically nosedived into his bed and didn’t move from where he landed. Ed went back downstairs, stifling a yawn before deciding to admit that the Lions and Paladins cajoling to get to bed while he was now tired was probably a good idea. He also decided to ignore the smugness coming from the Voltron Lions and Paladins as he turned the downstairs lights off and picked up the books he and Alphonse had spread across the lounge room before going back upstairs to get some sleep.

 

He pulled the covers over his brother when he entered his room once again and noticed Al hadn’t managed to pull them up himself in his sleep before he removed his sling and placed it on his bedside table, where he had placed his tablet after he’d rescued it from the specially reinforced pocket he’d placed it back in as he’d left the office that afternoon before the jacket could be thrown in the wash. He clambered into his bed and laid down carefully so he wouldn’t disrupt his injuries and find himself being lectured by Al, the Lions, Lance, Doctor Evans and his team in the morning if he busted a stitch or two.

 

He and the Lions talked for a little while longer and Ed even managed to talk to Allura and Coran when they found some time in their busy schedules to be able to talk with him through the Lions for a little while. Both Alteans had heard about his injuries and the events over the last week so Ed didn’t have to fill them in on anything. He scowled when Black informed Allura and Coran that Ed was barely able to keep his eyes open, causing the Altean Princess to apologise profusely to the alchemist for keeping him awake. Ed had used Blue to pass along the message that he wasn’t a stranger to sleepless nights so he was alright with them talking to him for long, especially because he enjoyed being able to catch up with them.

 

Coran had tried giving him advice on how to cure his insomnia when the blonde mentioned that going multiple days without sleep wasn’t anything unusual but Ed had politely reminded him that the things he was listing likely wouldn’t be found in Amestris and he honestly wasn’t sure he’d be able to find something that was the Altean equivalent of a Cadbariss bean or whatever else Coran suggested. Yellow told Ed that Allura had eventually saved him from the extremely detailed description of the Cadbariss bean when she reminded Coran they still had things to do and Ed needed sleep shortly after the two Alteans had asked her to pass along their well wishes to the alchemist.

 

After the Alteans had left the conversation, Ed started saying goodnight to the Paladins and promising to pass along messages to Al or Mustang later the next day. Shiro was the last Paladin Ed said goodnight too, mainly because Black’s pilot had wanted to take a moment of privacy to tell Ed how proud he had been to hear about him opening up Reid like he had. Ed felt a flash of anger and annoyance at Black for telling her pilot but it disappeared almost immediately when she next spoke.

 

 _“I’m sorry, cub,”_ Black whispered in his mind, voice almost submissive as Ed felt her genuine remorse at the idea that she’d betrayed his trust. _“I only told him because I knew he would be as proud as I am of you when he found out that you were learning to trust others,”_ she told him and Ed sighed a little. How could he stay mad after that? It was like staying mad at Elysia.

 

“I’m sorry for my anger. I’m really not mad at you, Black. In fact, I’m happy you did because I’d like to know what Shiro thought of me maybe telling the other BAU agents?” Ed said hesitantly and was minutely shocked at the joy he felt from Black.

 

 _“Shiro says that he is very proud of you for even considering telling the others but he also wants to stress that is completely your decision. Nobody would blame you if you decided that just telling Reid this trip is all you can handle or if you decided to simply give Reid permission to tell the others when they got home on your behalf,”_ Black dutifully passed along the message.

 

Ed immediately dismissed the idea of asking Reid to tell the others. This wasn’t a story he’d ever ask someone else to tell on his behalf unless he couldn’t physically talk to the other person. In fact, he knew that the only time he’d ever consider asking someone else to do that was if he ever decided to allow the Lions to tell the Paladins, Shiro being the only exception, and the Alteans what he and Alphonse had done.

 

“Can you thank Shiro for me, please, Black?” Ed asked and felt her doing so immediately.

 

 _“He says that you’re most welcome but that you should also get some sleep now before Lance figures out inter-dimensional travel himself, just so he can lecture you,”_ Black’s voice with filled with gentle amusement that only grew when Ed laughed.

 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t put it past him,” Ed chuckled as he made himself comfortable once more, pulling the top sheet up over himself.

 

Black must’ve told Shiro that Ed was tired because she soon passed on a message from the older Paladin, bidding him goodnight. Ed now only had the Lions to talk to as he slowly recognised the signs that he would fall asleep shortly. The Lions had felt the small amount of shock from Ed when he realised Shiro wouldn’t be upset with him if he didn’t tell the other BAU agents. They weren’t even sure if Ed himself had felt it but they didn’t address it. Instead, they decided to flood their bond with Ed with the love and warmth they felt for the young blonde. Ed drifted off to sleep, a small smile unknowingly on his face as the Lions silently congratulated themselves when they felt that small surprise Ed felt about Shiro’s support disappear completely. 

* * *

 

Even though any sleep the boys had gotten since before Belmont attacked Al and Hawkeye wasn’t exactly refreshing or even good, their bodies had obviously deemed it acceptable enough because the two of them woke up naturally, feeling a lot better and with an hour to get themselves ready and to the office to report for duty. The Lions had given Ed their usual chirpy good morning and Ed was actually rested enough that he didn’t immediately grumble something about morning Lions and how they could go shove their peppiness somewhere the sun don’t shine until after he’d had his morning coffee.

 

Ed and Al’s walk to the office was as uneventful as one could hope for about the first half of their journey. The first sign they’d gotten that word about Mustang’s impending release had gotten out was when a reporter had confronted them and shoved a voice recorder in front of them, though this man had obviously learned from his fellow journalists and kept his recorder out of easy reach. As much as both of them wanted to bag out Widdon and Combes and brag to the whole of Amestris about how they’d been right the whole time, they decided to merely answer with a generalised comment about how they were just happy to see justice for Mustang and how happy they were the families and friends of the victims could get true closure now that the true criminal had been found.

 

They were walking in comfortable silence when Ed decided to break it. “I think I’m going to tell them on the train tomorrow,” Ed said. Al had obviously been thinking about their conversation outside of the ex-Fifth Laboratory because he knew immediately what Ed was talking about.

 

“Are you sure, Brother?” Al asked and Ed sighed.

 

“No,” he admitted, “but I don’t want Reid to have to keep my secret from them for me. I know he won’t tell them if I don’t give him permission but it’s not fair of me to ask him to keep such a big secret from his teammates,” Ed told him.

 

“You could ask Reid to share our secret when they go home,” Al pointed out but Ed was already shaking his head.

 

“You know I couldn’t ask him to do that,” Ed said and Al nodded, completely unsurprised by his answer.

 

“I know,” he told him. There was a beat of silence. “So, what are you going to do?” Al asked curiously and Ed shrugged.

 

“I don’t know. I _want_ to tell them,” Ed said, sounding a little surprised with himself, “but I don’t know if I can.” Ed shook his head at himself. “They deserve to know the truth about what we did and I know that once they leave this time, the chances of us meeting again are slim to none, unless Truth feels like kidnapping me again for whatever reason. The train ride tomorrow is really the only time I’m guaranteed to have privacy to tell them,” Ed still sounded unsure but Al didn’t call him out on it.

 

“Have you spoken to the Lions or maybe even Shiro?” Al asked.

 

For a couple of weeks after Ed and Mustang’s return, Al had felt an irrational jealousy towards the Lions and Paladins whenever Ed brought them up and especially after Ed told him about Shiro’s advice regarding how to deal with what happened with Hagger. Of course, Al had been grateful for the Black Paladin being there for Ed but he had been Ed’s emotional support ever since their mother had passed and Al didn’t like sharing that with anyone. Ed had figured out something was going on with him and asked what was wrong. Al had admitted his jealousy, sure that Ed was going to tell him to stop being an idiot, but Ed had given him a tight hug and reassured him that no one could replace him. Then he ruined the moment by telling him not to be an idiot.

 

“Yeah, when we went to bed last night,” Ed told him. “Shiro said the same thing you did. I could tell them, not tell them or ask Reid to tell them for me.”

 

“I always knew Shiro was smart,” Al grinned, knocking his fist lightly against Ed’s arm and pushing him slightly, causing Ed to laugh. “I know you’ll tell me off if I offered to tell them myself without you there-“

 

“Damn right I will,” Ed muttered but Al ignored the interruption.

 

“So I won’t. But I will be there when you tell them, if you’d like,” Al offered and Ed gave Al a small smile.

 

“If you insist, baby brother,” Ed grinned, slinging his automail arm around Al’s shoulder and pulling him for a hug, ignoring Al’s protests. 

* * *

 

It was only 7:20am when they finally arrived at the front gates and were permitted entrance by the soldiers guarding it. Sheska joined them in the final leg of their journey, having run into them almost literally as she rushed to get to Brookes’ office so she wouldn’t be late for her first day back from the personal leave she had taken.

 

“How are you, Ed? I’m sorry I never managed to see you at the hospital or yesterday,” Sheska said, sounding truly regretful but Ed waved off her worries with a smile.

 

“I’m doing well, Miss Sheska. Thank you for your concern and please don’t worry too much about not being able to visit me. I wasn’t admitted for very long,” Ed assured her and she let out a small relieved sigh.

 

“I’m very glad to hear that, Ed. How are you, Alphonse? Is your head any better?” Sheska turned her worry from Ed to Al now that she was satisfied Ed wasn’t likely to keel over in front of her.

 

“I’m feeling a lot better. Thank you for asking,” Al gave her a soft smile that she shyly returned. Even though she had known them for years now, she still retreated into her shell around them sometimes.

 

“Oh, I need to head this way now,” Sheska said, sounding surprised that they had already reached the corridor that Brookes’ office was situated.

 

“Have a good day, Miss Sheska, and thank you so much for all of your help these past few days. We really appreciated having you with us,” Al said sincerely, causing Sheska to blush slightly.

 

“Yeah, you were a massive help. In fact, you and Brookes should join us for dinner tonight. Mustang’s gonna shout since we all helped save him from prison and since you and Brookes played a big part in that, you should definitely join us,” Ed told her with a grin.

 

“Oh, that’s truly a wonderful offer, Ed. I’ll pass the invitation along to Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes but I don’t see why I wouldn’t be able to go. Not unless something comes up between now and then, anyway,” Sheska rambled slightly, sounding slightly chuffed at being invited along.

 

“Awesome. Tell Brookes to drop by anytime today or give the office a call with his answer and someone will give him the time and place we’re meeting when it’s been decided.” Sheska nodded enthusiastically before realising she was nearly late. She barely managed to wave at the two boys before disappearing down the corridor at a frantic pace.

 

 _“We need to meet her as well if we ever manage to dimension hop,”_ Green informed Ed, causing the blonde to laugh and agree.

 

“They should make a list of people they want to meet,” Al suggested when Ed explained why he’d laughed.

 

“They already have,” Ed said, rolling his eyes a little as the two of them resumed their walk to their office. The Lions did the mental version of sticking their tongues out at him, which made Ed shake his head fondly at them as he and Al made their way to the office. 

* * *

 

“Good morning, boys,” Hawkeye greeted as the two brothers stepped into the office. A glance around confirmed that she was the only person in the office.

 

“Morning, Miss Riza,” Ed greeted as he immediately beelined for his desk next to hers. He was still technically Mustang so he still had paperwork to do this morning. “How are you this morning?” Ed couldn’t help but ask.

 

“I’m quite well. A good night’s sleep in my own bed seems to have been what I really needed,” Hawkeye informed, a touch of warmth in her professional tone. “How are you this morning, Edward, Alphonse?” She asked, giving both boys a significant look over, like she was trying to see if she could spot any new injuries or evidence that they hadn’t gone back to Gracia’s for the night, like she had told them to do.

 

“I think sleeping in our own beds had the same effect for us,” Ed told her as he accepted the paperwork she handed to him. “I haven’t ripped any stitches, which is probably a record for me, so there’s that,” Ed added on.

 

“That’s good to hear, Edward. I imagine Doctor Evans would not have been impressed to have you back in his examination room because you ripped your stitches,” Hawkeye stated before raising a brow at Al.

 

“The same answer for me as well,” Al told her when he realised she had been waiting for him to answer. “My head doesn’t hurt too badly anymore and the rest of my injuries seem to be healing as well as can be expected.” Hawkeye seemed satisfied with their responses as she turned back to her own paperwork. Ed took the hint and got stuck into his own while Al went into Mustang’s office and emerged with a couple of books to keep himself entertained.

 

Ed hadn’t focused long enough on his paperwork to manage to tune out the outside world completely so he did look up when the door opened and permitted everyone missing from the office inside. There was a slightly awkward moment when the Amestrians realised that without a case or the technology they were used to, the BAU team didn’t have a lot of options to keep themselves occupied while Mustang’s team worked on their daily paperwork. Ed told them they could raid Mustang’s office for books to read – something Reid did with a lot of enthusiasm – or they were welcome to find something else to do before he returned back to his paperwork and tuned everyone out. 

* * *

 

Ed’s focus on his paperwork was only broken when he signed the final piece of it and handed it over to Hawkeye to check over. He took the opportunity presented to observe everyone else. His team were doing their paperwork but were lightly engaged in conversation with various BAU agents. Reid, of course, had an ever-growing pile of read books next to him as he devoured one tome after another. Al had finished his own book and had joined in on the conversation at some point. Hawkeye was obviously alright with the chatter since he hadn’t heard a gun being cocked or fired.

 

“Excellent work, Edward,” Hawkeye praised, giving Ed a smile as she stacked his papers on her completed ones. “How is everyone else going with their work?” Hawkeye asked, voice telling them that there was only one answer that wouldn’t see them getting shot.

 

“Nearly done with my high propriety ones, Captain,” Falman reported. The other members of their team came back with similar answers and Hawkeye looked content enough with that answer.

 

“Good work, gentlemen. If I may request something, Edward?” Hawkeye asked formally, causing Ed to almost squirm uncomfortably.

 

“You don’t have to ask, Miss Riza. I’m only in charge on paper, remember? Just like Mustang is,” Ed reminded her, not being able to help the small quip at the older alchemist, despite the fact he wasn’t there. Hawkeye didn’t reprimand him nor the others when they laughed so Ed took it as a win.

 

“I realised last night that General Mustang’s house hasn’t been tidied up from the raid yet. I would like to head over to his home and do a tidy-up of his place but I would require help from anyone who wished to volunteer their time,” Hawkeye said. Ed jolted in guilty shock as he realised he hadn’t spared Mustang’s house a second thought once they left it after the search warrant had been served. “I know I certainly wouldn’t want to face the kind of mess that Generals Widdon and Combes left in their wake the night I was released from a holding cell.” Hawkeye’s pointed words had the intended effect on most of the two teams.

 

“We’ll be happy to extend a hand,” Hotch told her, not giving anyone on his team room to argue, not that any of them would have.

 

The male members of Mustang’s team all exchanged looks before Havoc spoke up for all them. “I think we’re all in,” he said, the other three nodding behind him.

 

“I’m happy to help,” Al said, to absolutely no one’s surprise. Ed seemed to be contemplating something.

 

 _“If you don’t answer her soon, she’s going to get angry with you,”_ Blue chided gently, causing Ed to jolt slightly.

 

 _“Besides, if you agree to go with them and help, you can show Captain Hawkeye this,”_ Red added, pushing one of Ed’s memories towards the front of his mind and Ed felt himself grin as he realised what Red was showing him. Both he and Red ignored Yellow’s mutter about troublemakers.

 

“I suppose I could come and help,” Ed sighed long-sufferingly. “It can just be another thing the bastard owes me for,” Ed grinned as Al rolled his eyes at him.

 

“Thank you, Edward,” Hawkeye gave him a grateful smile. “I suggest that someone takes the completed paperwork and distributes it to where it needs to go. Once that is done, I’ll organise some cars to take us to General Mustang’s house,” she informed them. Breda took the hint and went around to his teammates’ desks to gather whatever paperwork they’d managed to get done before leaving the office. Everyone who didn’t have paperwork relaxed slightly, content to wait for Breda’s return while the three people who still had some paperwork steadily worked their way through the rest of their piles so they wouldn’t have as much to do upon their return. 

* * *

 

Hawkeye requested two cars and no drivers for the group to use, as both Havoc and Falman offered to drive. Brookes had dropped by just before Breda had made it back to let Ed know that he would love to join them for dinner that night. Ed had grinned and told him that someone would come and find him and Sheska later that day to let them know the particulars. Brookes had left only a couple of minutes later, having dropped by on his way to an appointment. Breda showed up ten minutes later and the group left the office for the military car pool.

 

The two cars were waiting for them, as the sergeant Hawkeye had spoken to promised. All they had to do was sign out the keys, which as the highest-ranking officer was Ed’s job, before getting into the cars. Every BAU member, except for Reid, went into the car driven by Havoc and the rest were driven by Falman. Ed could feel Red’s anticipation grow a little stronger as they approached the house.

 

Since Mustang hadn’t been released yet, the guard rotation assigned to his home hadn’t been removed as there was still a danger that someone would break into the house. Ed was gladdened to see the soldier guarding the front of the house shift, watching the two cars pull up with a suspicious eye. He didn’t move from his post, staying where he was and watching the two groups leave the cars and make their way over to him.

 

“Please state your names and business here, sirs, ma’ams,” the soldier requested, moving smoothly so he was now blocking the door rather than standing right next to it.

 

“I’m Captain Hawkeye,” Hawkeye introduced herself before gesturing to Edward. “This is Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, his brother, Alphonse,” Hawkeye’s hand moved to Al, “his team,” a gesture to the four other Amestrians, “and some friends of ours. We’re here to fix any damage done to Brigadier-General Mustang’s home by the execution of Generals Combes and Widdon’s search warrant.” The soldier immediately saluted to Ed and Hawkeye, both of whom waved a dismissal at him.

 

“My apologies, lieutenant-colonel, captain, but I have standing orders from Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes to ask for the identity of anyone who approached the house,” the soldier explained, a touch nervously.

 

“Then let me commend you for following your orders,” Hawkeye said, giving him an approving nod. “If you would, please go and alert your partner to the fact that we will be inside the house for a few hours. Warrant Officer Fuery will wait here until you return to your post,” Hawkeye ordered, nodding to Fuery.

 

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am,” the soldier said before saluting once more and leaving immediately when Hawkeye dismissed him.

 

“Can I blow the door up again? It was a lot of fun last time,” Ed asked, eyes shining with a mix of hopefulness and mischief.

 

“No,” Hawkeye said simply as she unlocked the door with her set of keys, ignoring Ed’s pout.

 

“When did you blow Mustang’s door up?” Morgan asked as everyone sans Fuery entered the house.

 

“Ah, like two months after we were transferred here, Al and I went for a really late walk because neither of us could sleep. A couple of streets away from Mustang’s place, some idiots ambushed us, thinking we would be an easy mark,” Ed explained as he recalled the events. “I think it was like, 3 in the morning. Anyway, they managed to separate us somehow, probably thinking it would be easier to take us down. I took down the four who fought me but I got stabbed in the gut for my troubles and I couldn’t hear or see Al anywhere. Despite what my brother claims, I do know my own limitations,” Ed said, looking pointedly at Al, who rolled his eyes.

 

“Keep telling yourself that, Brother. One day I might believe you,” Al snarked back.

 

“What happened next, Ed?” Reid asked, putting a stop to any remark Ed was going to make.

 

“I knew Mustang’s address. I knew everyone’s address by then but Mustang was closest to me and I had no choice. It was Mustang’s or bleed out before Al could find me and I didn’t know if Al was hurt or not,” Ed told them. “Anyway, I got myself here and pounded on the door but he didn’t answer right away so I used alchemy to destroy the door so I could see if I could find a first aid kit and patch myself up. Mustang was _not_ impressed,” Ed told them.

 

“I can’t imagine why,” Hotch drawled as everyone else laughed at Ed’s innocent-not-innocent grin.

 

“Mustang obviously helped you and you guys found Al, though, right?” JJ asked and Ed waved his hand in a ‘kind-of’ gesture.

 

“Mustang did his best to patch me up but he ended up having to call Havoc to keep me stabilised while we waited for an ambulance. Mustang then left when Havoc turned up to go find Al, only to run into him at the end of his street. Al had found his way back to where we were separated and followed the blood trail,” Ed told them. Both Havoc and Al nodded to back up his tale.

 

“I apologise, Havoc, but why would Mustang call you? I thought he had experience as field medic,” Rossi asked, remembering Ed mentioning that.

 

“The bossman does have field medic training but only for the basic stuff. I’m a certified field medic so I’ve got much more advanced training in dealing with larger injuries, like what chief had,” Havoc explained. “Mustang also knew I’d get there quicker than an ambulance and since we needed to find Al as well… ” Havoc trailed off, letting them finish his statement themselves.

 

“Were you badly injured, Alphonse?” JJ asked, looking worried even though the fight happened years ago.

 

“Nothing major. Brother just had the unfortunate luck to deal with the only armed thug in the group,” Al lied smoothly. In fact, two of Al’s attackers had been armed with pistol’s but the bullets hadn’t done much more than ding and scratch his armour but since none of the BAU – except Reid – didn’t know about that, he couldn’t tell the truth just yet.

 

“Of course he did,” JJ sighed, an air of resignation about her, causing everyone to laugh at her remark.

 

“Yes, Edward has a remarkable tendency to attract the most trouble for himself,” Hawkeye said, a small amount of melancholy in her voice before she clapped her hands together. “We should start tidying this place up. Edward and Alphonse can take care of the library and study. The rest of you can fan out and tackle other parts of the house,” Hawkeye ordered. Receiving nods, she went to go up to the master bedroom but Ed stopped her at the top of the staircase.

 

“Actually, Miss Riza, I think it would be best for you to clear the guest room. There was a drawer filled with official-looking paperwork and you would be the best person to sort through it and make sure it was put back in order,” Ed suggested, leading her to the guest room and gesturing to the paper strewn across it. Hawkeye’s mouth twitched but she nodded.

 

“Yes, I believe that would be for the best, Edward. Are you going to clean the study?” She asked and Ed nodded. “Very well,” she said before stepping into the room and leaving Ed in the hallway.

 

 _“I really hope she waits to confront him about that until you’re there to witness it,”_ Red cackled as she imagined the confrontation while Ed grinned sharply to himself.

 

“Me too, Red,” Ed laughed, feeling the other Lions mix of amusement and desire to reprimand the two of them.

 

 _“I can’t believe you’re planning on siccing Hawkeye onto Mustang the same day he’s released from the holding cell,”_ Blue said, mentally shaking her head in exasperation at him.

 

“Not my fault the bastard decided to hide his paperwork in his house nor is it my fault that the generals uncovered it during their search,” Ed pointed out silently as he entered the study and got to work.

 

 _“Yes, but I feel I should point out that you_ did _tell Hawkeye about it so you could watch the lecture he would get,”_ Black said and Ed sent a wave of fake innocence through their bond.

 

“I just didn’t want to risk them being extremely confidential or messing up his system. Miss Riza was the obvious choice,” Ed told her, tone faux offended at her accusation. Black mentally rolled her eyes as he grinned before getting properly stuck into his self-assigned task, joining in on the Lions and, when they realised Ed was talking to the Lions, the Paladins conversations. 

* * *

 

Ed was jolted out of his thoughts and mental conversations by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him. He’d managed to get about half of the study reorganised in between his chats with the Paladins and Lions. Allura had even joined in – through Black – for a couple of minutes, much to Ed’s surprise, but they hadn’t been able to talk for very long since she was needed in the control room for a meeting with the leader of a planet the Castle-ship was planning to stop and resupply on. Coran was busy getting the control ready to accept the video call, according to Allura when Ed asked where he was. Ed put the book he had in his hand on the shelf before turning around to see who was in the room with him.

 

“Hey, Miss Riza,” Ed said, surprised to see the blonde. “Something wrong?” He asked, wondering if he’d missed something while he was talking with the Voltron crew.

 

“No, nothing’s wrong. I’ve finished with the guest room. I really only needed to put the papers in order and straighten the furniture up. The sheets on the guest bed will need to be washed so I’ve taken them down to the laundry,” Hawkeye explained and Ed nodded. “Would you like a hand in here?” She asked and Ed considered it for a moment.

 

“Actually, that would be great. If you wanna start picking the rest of the books up off the floor and checking them over for damage, that would be handy,” Ed said and she nodded, immediately moving forward to do as he suggested.

 

They worked in mostly silence. Hawkeye picked up each book and checked it thoroughly for damage, usually only finding pages bent thanks to the book opening when it was tossed aside and landing on the pages but sometimes she found ripped pages, pages torn clean out or pages with dirty footprints pressed into them. A small percentage of the books had been thrown with enough force to damage to spine enough that the only reason the pages hadn’t fallen out was simply thanks to luck.

 

When she found a damaged book, she handed it to Ed, who used alchemy to mend it as best he could. The books that had been stepped on were mended by Ed carefully alchemising the dirt away but the actual print of the boot couldn’t be removed without damaging the page or the printed words. All Ed could do was flatten the page or pages affected and hope the pressure of the closed book and the pressure from the book being squeezed between several others on the shelf would revert the page or pages back to their original shape.

 

Once all books had been picked up and checked over, Hawkeye joined in on shelving them. They spoke quietly amongst themselves, mainly about whatever Ed, the Lions and the Paladins had been talking about. Red sulked when Ed refused to ask Hawkeye about what she planned on doing to Mustang when she confronted him about the papers stashed in his guest room.

 

“Is that everything?” Ed asked once he placed the last book he could see on the shelf in front of him. Both he and Hawkeye double-checked the room for any stray books but came up empty-handed.

 

“Have you put all the boxes in their places?” Hawkeye asked and Ed did a quick count of the boxes before nodding.

 

“All the boxes are there. Whether they’re in the right spot is anyone’s guess until Mustang checks,” Ed admitted. Hawkeye pursed her lips before nodding.

 

“I suppose the first time you saw this room was during the generals search,” Hawkeye said and Ed nodded.

 

“Yeah, the only time I was in this house was when I was bleeding out so I really only saw the lounge room and entry way,” Ed told her and she nodded.

 

“I’ll admit that I’ve been here a few times to drop paperwork off on the odd occasion General Mustang was ill or otherwise unable to come into the office himself but I’ve never spent any time in this room so I am unsure of where the boxes are meant to be. I’m sure the general will be able to place them in the correct spot himself, if they aren’t already in it,” Hawkeye said. “Let’s go see if the others need any help. We should start with those already on this floor,” Hawkeye suggested. Ed nodded and followed her out of the newly tidied study.

 

Since they knew the guest bedroom and study were fixed to their original state, the next room they checked was the main bedroom. Havoc had apparently decided to take on that task himself and was just finishing rehanging the uniforms Ed had placed on the bed when they entered. Other than the uniforms Havoc hadn’t hung up again, only the bed needed to be fixed.

 

“Hey, chief. Hey, Captain,” Havoc greeted as they entered the room.

 

“Hey, Havoc,” Ed smiled back. “Want a hand with anything in here?” He asked but Havoc shook his head.

 

“Nah, don’t really have all that much left to do in here,” Havoc said, waving his arm in gesture to show them the lack of mess left.

 

“Very well. We’ll check on the others,” Hawkeye said with a nod. Ed waved goodbye to Havoc before following Hawkeye to the bathroom, noting as they left the main bedroom that someone had already been up and cleared up the tangled mess of sheets and other items that had been thrown out of the linen closet during the search.

 

No one was in the bathroom but Ed noted that the items that had been moved or pulled out of the cabinets had disappeared back into them so someone had been up to organise the bathroom. Ed figured it was likely the same person who picked up the stuff from the linen cupboard. Since there was nowhere else on the first floor to check, both Hawkeye and Ed headed back downstairs to see how everyone was going down there.

 

“Hey, Al. How you going with this?” Ed asked as soon as he spotted his little brother picking up the few remaining books up off the lounge room floor and placing them carefully back on the shelf.

 

“Nearly finished,” Al said, giving both of them a smile.

 

“Were you working in here by yourself?” Hawkeye asked, frowning a little. Ed figured it was a fair question considering there were at least as many books in here than there were in the study and Ed had had Hawkeye’s help for a good portion of the sorting.

 

“Oh, no, I had some helpers but I sent them off to the kitchen to clean it up since I’m basically done here,” Al told her, placing another book on the shelf.

 

“Alright, I’ll go see how they are going. Ed, you stay here and put those boxes up while Alphonse finishes up with the books,” Hawkeye ordered before moving past the boys and heading into the kitchen. Ed and Al heard a chorus of greetings from those in the kitchen before turning back to their jobs.

 

“How’d your little revenge plan go?” Al asked and Ed grinned a little sheepishly.

 

“Ah, so you realised what that was?” Ed asked and Al deadpanned stared at him, causing Ed to laugh. “It wasn’t just my idea, you know!” Ed exclaimed, keeping his voice quiet.

 

“Really? Please, do enlighten me, Brother, but who else would do something like that to General Mustang?” Al asked, one brow raised in disbelief.

 

“If you really must know, Red was the one who actually gave me the idea,” Ed sniffed before grinning when he felt Red’s pride in herself for her suggestion.

 

“Of course she did. She’s pretty much the Lion version of you,” Al muttered.

 

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Ed said, pausing for a moment before laughing a little, “and so will Red.” Al rolled his eyes.

 

“The two of you would,” Al said before poking his tongue out.

 

“Stop acting like children, you two,” Morgan chided, startling the two brothers.

 

“Technically, we still are,” Al said, grinning as the BAU agent joined them in the lounge room.

 

“All you needed to do after saying that would be to poke your tongue out,” Morgan joked, nudging Al’s shoulder and earning himself an eyeroll.

 

“So, what’s up, Morgan?” Ed asked as he placed the last box in the spot he thought it belonged in.

 

“Nothing. Just checking to make sure the two of you were good,” Morgan said. “We’re pretty much all done with the rest of the house. The rest of my team is tidying up the last little bit while Hawkeye is doing whatever she’s doing in the pantry. I think Fuery and Falman are checking over the backyard and Breda is making sure the generals and their teams didn’t damage the car,” Morgan told them, causing Ed and Al’s intrigue to rise when Morgan mentioned Hawkeye.

 

“Wonder what she’s doing in the pantry,” Al said and Ed shrugged his right shoulder.

 

“I dunno. General Combes’ team did make a massive mess in there. Maybe she’s checking nothing else was damaged?” Ed offered as an answer. Like she heard them talking about her, Hawkeye appeared in the lounge room.

 

“I’m going to take Fuery and Falman with me to the grocery shop to buy replacements for what General Combes’ team spilled everywhere,” Hawkeye announced.

 

“Shouldn’t the military be reimbursing Mustang for that sort of stuff?” Ed asked, not liking the idea that Hawkeye should have to pay for what the generals did.

 

“Unfortunately, no. The generals were well within their rights to search this house and even go through the pantry items like they did. However, I will be keeping the receipts so General Mustang can reimburse me himself,” Hawkeye said, giving Ed a slight smile when he nodded approvingly of her plan. “We shouldn’t be longer than half an hour,” Hawkeye said.

 

“Alright, we’ll see you soon,” Ed said. Hawkeye gave him and the two others standing next to him a sharp nod before heading for the backyard to collect Fuery and Falman. It didn’t take long for them to hear one of the cars start up and drive away. “I’m gonna raid Mustang’s kitchen for coffee,” Ed announced, moving for the kitchen.

 

“Brother!” Al reprimanded. “I want a cup too,” he said, grinning as Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“I have one good arm. You can make your own damn cup of coffee,” Ed grumbled at him, though his eyes were shining with amusement.

 

“I wouldn’t mind a cuppa either,” Morgan said. Both blondes looked at him, looked at each then looked back at him.

 

“You can make it yourself,” they said in unison and Morgan barely suppressed a shudder.

 

“That’s so creepy,” he said before following the brothers into the kitchen as they laughed at him. 

* * *

 

True to her word, Hawkeye, Fuery and Falman arrived back within half an hour of them leaving. The soldier who was guarding the front opened the door for them since their arms were filled with bags of groceries. They were greeted by the sight of everyone gathered in the lounge room, armed with empty or near-empty coffee cups, talking and laughing. That all quietened down when the door opened and both Ed and Al were on their feet in an instant.

 

“Here, I’ll take that bag,” Ed said, reaching for one of the bags Hawkeye was holding. She relinquished it readily and he tucked it securely under his automail arm. Al and Reid did the same for Fuery and Falman.

 

“I hope you cleaned up after yourselves and left enough coffee for the general to have one in the morning,” Hawkeye said as she eyed the coffee mugs.

 

“Even I wouldn’t be mean enough to finish off the man’s coffee,” Ed told her as they traversed into the kitchen to unpack the groceries.

 

“Good. I don’t want to deal with him whining tomorrow,” Hawkeye said, placing her burden on the clean bench. Ed choked on his laughter as he did the same thing with his bag of food. “Would you mind helping me unpack the groceries? You can pass them to me,” Hawkeye asked as the four others placed their portion of the shopping next to theirs.

 

“Yeah, no worries,” Ed said.

 

“Do you want my help as well, Captain Hawkeye?” Fuery asked.

 

“You and the others may unpack the cold items and place them in the fridge,” Hawkeye said and the four of them nodded.

 

They soon had a good system going. Edward would hand Hawkeye something that belonged in the pantry and by the time he had something else in hand, Hawkeye would have placed the previous item where it was supposed to go. Fuery and Al were doing the same with the cold foodstuff while Falman and Reid placed thing like tea and sugar above the kettle.

 

Since Falman and Reid didn’t have all that much to unpack, they went and collected the dirty cups from the rest of the team, ignoring Morgan and Havoc’s teasing comments. Reid washed up while Falman dried and placed the clean cups and teaspoons where they belonged. By the time they were done with that, the others were done unpacking the groceries and the grocery bags dealt with. Hawkeye glanced around before nodding in satisfaction and gesturing for the five men to head back into the lounge room.

 

“Alphonse, would you mind going up to General Mustang’s room and grabbing one of his uniforms from his wardrobe? I imagine he would like the opportunity to wear something other than the prison garb once he’s released,” Hawkeye said, “I think he keeps an overnight bag on top of his wardrobe as well, if you would like to pack it in there?” Hawkeye suggested.

  
“Of course, Captain Hawkeye,” Al said agreeably before heading up towards the main bedroom. Hawkeye turned to the rest of the group.

 

“I wish to thank everyone for your help today and I’ll make sure to thank Alphonse as well when he’s back. I’m sure General Mustang will appreciate this more than he’ll admit to,” Hawkeye said as she stood in front of the group.

 

“It was our pleasure to help, Riza,” JJ said with an honest smile that Hawkeye returned.

 

“Like I said, Mustang will just owe me one,” Ed said, though his voice told Hawkeye he likely wouldn’t use this against Mustang to gain a favour.

 

“Still; thank you,” Hawkeye said sincerely. “We should head back to the office now. Hopefully it won’t be too long now until General Mustang is released and some of this team still has paperwork to complete,” Hawkeye said, eyes narrowing at Fuery, Breda, Falman and Havoc. All four gulped nervously.

 

“Sure, let’s head back,” Ed agreed, heading for the door. The others followed, joined by Alphonse with an overnight bag slung over his shoulder just as they got to the front door, and soon enough they were all outside and grouped on the lawn while Hawkeye locked the front door.

 

“Should we expect any other visitors today, Captain?” The soldier on guard duty asked as he resumed his post.

 

“No, there shouldn’t be anyone else unless General Mustang is released by tonight. I expect that the only other exception would be Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes but I believe he normally accompanies the next shift anyway,” Hawkeye said and the soldier nodded.

 

“Yes, ma’am, he does,” the soldier confirmed. “If you wouldn’t mind waiting for a few moments, I would appreciate the chance to inform my partner that you’ve left without disobeying my orders,” the soldier said, looking nervous and probably thinking he’d overstepped his bounds.

 

“Of course not,” Hawkeye said. The soldier looked grateful before hurrying around the side of the house. Everyone waited on the front lawn, Hawkeye having joined them, for a minute before the soldier returned from the side of the house.

 

“Thank you, ma’am,” he said as he resumed his post.

 

“You’re welcome, Sergeant,” Hawkeye said with a nod. “We’ll take our leave now.” At her words, the two teams headed for the cars.

 

“Have a good day, sirs, ma’ams,” the soldier called as they walked away.

 

“You too, sergeant,” Ed said with a nod, the sentiment echoed by the others. Once everyone was in a car, driven once again by either Havoc or Falman, they pulled away from the curbside and left Mustang’s house in the rearview mirror as they headed back for Central Command. 

* * *

 

There was a debate in Havoc’s car about whether or not they should stop to get lunch at one of the restaurants or cafes on their way to the office or if they should just get sandwiches from the mess hall once they’d gotten back to the base. Al had been the one to point out that they didn’t know what the others in the second car wanted for lunch so it was probably a good idea just to get sandwiches. The rest of car agreed with as much enthusiasm as food from the mess warranted and they didn’t make any stops until they got to the base.

 

Once they pulled up at the car pool and handed over the sets of keys for the borrowed cars to the waiting soldier, they had a quick vote on whether to get lunch then or to send someone to do a lunch run later. Edward’s stomach was vehemently against sending someone later, as was the actual person, and so were the majority of the others so they diverted to the mess hall to buy some sandwiches and drinks.

 

Once the mess hall had been raided, the group made their way back to the office. They kept their voices and laughter to a minimum so they didn’t disturb the soldiers who were currently working in the offices lining the corridors. When they finally reached their office, Ed kidnapped Al for ‘an important, private discussion they absolutely needed to have right now’ in the inner office, according to Edward. Hawkeye raised a brow knowingly but didn’t do anything except snap at the four other members of her team to get to work as the boys disappeared into the office. 

 

“Alright, so you know the plan?” Ed asked as he and Al headed past the couches.

 

“Yup,” Al confirmed, beelining for Mustangs bookshelves. Ed and Al exchanged a shit-eating grin as they started on their respective jobs.

 

 _“There’s no chance I can talk you out of just leaving this alone, can I?”_ Black asked, sounding completely resigned to the fact that she wouldn’t be able to.

 

“If you already know the answer, why did you ask?” Ed asked, huffing in amusement at the long-suffering sigh Black gave as an answer.

 

 _“Leave him alone, Black. This is a great idea,”_ Red chided a little too eagerly. Ed had the fleeting thought that if Red was here in person, she would be uncontainable in her excitement and would actually likely flatten them in her eagerness to help. _“Hey! I wouldn’t do that! I’d only crush your legs because you probably wouldn’t die from that.”_ Ed could feel Red’s smirk through their bond and it made him laugh out loud, causing Al to glance at him from the bookshelves.

 

“The Lions?” He asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Black’s done her duty of trying to talk me out of this and Red’s accomplished her goal of making sure I wouldn’t listen to Black,” Ed told him with a grin as Black rolled her eyes while Red sent her sister a self-satisfied grin.

 

“Okay, well, if Red did win this round, you better get back to work,” Al said, snapping his fingers at Ed to get himself into gear. Ed flipped him off but didn’t actually argue, instead, he started opening drawers up in Mustang’s desk and getting started on his part of the plan. 

* * *

 

“Have you boys finished your conversation?” Hawkeye asked when the two emerged barely an hour later. She didn’t even look up from her desk and whatever she was doing as she spoke.

 

“Yup,” Ed said as he and Al took their seats at the desks. Not even a minute later there was a knock at the door, causing everyone to jump since they weren’t expecting anyone. “Enter,” Ed called out, permitting them entrance into the office.

 

The door opened to reveal Sergeant Browning, much to near everyone’s shock. “I’m sorry to disrupt your afternoon, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, but I was asked to pass along a message to you, Captain Hawkeye, Alphonse Elric and Lieutenant Havoc,” Browning explained, saluting.

 

“Alright, who’s the message from?” Ed asked curiously, waving the salute away.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman, Sir,” Browning replied, immediately getting everyone’s attention. “He would like for the four of you to head up to his office immediately,” Browning said.

 

“Did he say why?” Ed asked, even as he and the other three go to their feet. Al grabbed the overnight bag of Mustang’s at Hawkeye’s gesture.

 

“No, Sir, he didn’t,” Browning replied and Ed nodded, not really having expected another answer.

 

“Alright. Thanks for passing on the message. We’ll head up there right away,” Ed said, dismissing the sergeant, who saluted once more before disappearing through the door. “Come on, guys. Let’s go see what Grumman wants,” Ed said, gesturing for Havoc, Hawkeye and Al to head for the door. “Falman’s in charge,” Ed said before he followed the others.

 

“Have fun!” JJ called before the door closed behind the group. 

* * *

 

“I wonder what he’s after?” Ed mused out loud as the four of them walked towards Grumman’s office.

 

“I don’t know, Ed, but I imagine it has something to do with General Mustang or former Major Belmont,” Hawkeye told him, sounding only half-certain in her answer.

 

“Yeah, you might be onto something there,” Ed said, nodding. It did make sense, after all. Grumman wouldn’t really have any other cases that would concern them right now.

 

“Maybe he’s going to offer you another promotion, chief,” Havoc suggested teasingly, causing Al to very poorly cover up a laugh as a cough and Ed to death glare them both.

 

“I’ll be much nicer than I was to Mustang when it comes to turning down a promotion, in the unlikely case that that is what’s gonna happen,” Ed ground out, much to the amusement of Al and Havoc.

 

“I can’t imagine it would be a promotion, Edward. It’s barely been a week since your promotion to lieutenant-colonel. Fuhrer Grumman wouldn’t be able to promote you this soon without exceptionally good reason,” Hawkeye reassured him and Ed relaxed a little at her words.

 

“Good. I didn’t even want this promotion,” Ed grumbled as they continued walking, ignoring Al and Havoc’s light laughter.

 

The rest of the walk was made in mainly comfortable silence. When they finally reached the outer doors to the Fuhrer’s office, Hawkeye was the one to open them up and close them again once they were all inside. Samantha glanced up at their entrance and smiled broadly at them once she recognised the group.

 

“Good afternoon, Lieutenant, Captain, Edward and Alphonse,” Samantha greeted as they approached her desk.

 

“Good afternoon, Miss Samantha,” Edward greeted. “We got a message that Fuhrer Grumman wanted to see us ASAP,” he told her, getting a nod in return.

 

“Of course. Please follow me,” Samantha said, rising to her feet to lead them to the doors to the inner office. She knocked solidly on the wooden doors once she reached them, opening when she heard Grumman call for them to enter.

 

“Good afternoon, Fuhrer Grumman,” Hawkeye said, saluting alongside Edward, Alphonse and Havoc, once they entered behind Samantha.

 

“Good afternoon. Thank you, Samantha,” Grumman said, nodding to his secretary. She took the hint and left the office, closing the door behind herself. “I have some news for you and a task I need you to do,” Grumman told them, gesturing for them come and stand in front of his desk.

 

“So, what’s the news?” Ed asked once they were gathered in front of his desk. Al hissed at him but Ed didn’t look overly perturbed by the reprimand. Grumman didn’t seem to mind the brusque question.

 

“The news is that former Brigadier-General Mustang is no longer considered a former brigadier-general. His release has been made official and that leads me to the task I require you to carry out for me. The newly-reinstated Brigadier-General Mustang will be released within the hour and I would like the four of you to meet him at the holding cells and escort him back here to my office,” Grumman told them, suppressing a grin of his own at the exuberant smiles on almost everyone’s faces. Hawkeye managed to contain her own excitement to just a smile.

 

“Thank you for allowing us to be the ones to do this, Sir,” Hawkeye said, bowing her head slightly.

 

“You’re welcome,” Grumman said. “I would imagine that you would like to get going. I’ve ordered General Mustang to be released as soon as you arrive down at the holding cells,” Grumman told them.

 

“Thank you, Sir. We will take our leave now, if that is alright by you?” Hawkeye asked and Grumman nodded before waving them towards the door. The four of them saluted before heading for the office door when Grumman waved them out of the salutes.

 

“Leaving already?” Samantha asked as she watched them file out of the inner office.

 

“Yes, but we will be back shortly to speak with Fuhrer Grumman once more,” Hawkeye told her.

 

“Then I suppose I will see you shortly,” Samantha said, with a small knowing smile.

 

“Yup. See you soon, Miss Samantha!” Ed called as they headed for the main office doors.

 

“Bye, Edward,” Samantha called just before the door shut behind them. 

* * *

 

They forced themselves to walk casually along the path to the holding cells so they wouldn’t draw too much attention to themselves. Ed could feel the Lions excitement being held back as much as they could through their bond. Ever since the first visit Ed had made to the holding cells when the Lions reestablished their link with him, they had been saddened to see Mustang in the cell. Knowing that this time would be the last time that they had to see that made them happy, despite their personal feelings about the man.

 

There was no talking or laughter between them as they walked and in no time at all it seemed that they were walking up the front steps of the building, nodding a greeting to the guard stationed out the front of the entrance. They went to the sign-in desk but were surprised when the guard stationed there didn’t slide over the paperwork to them.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang will be escorted from the cell to you here,” the soldier informed them.

 

“Would you mind having one of the guards take this bag to the general?” Hawkeye asked, gesturing for Al to hand the bag over.

 

“Of course not, Captain Hawkeye,” the soldier nodded before beckoning a guard over. “Give the bag to Warrant Officer Carter there. He’ll give it to General Mustang before escorting him out here.” Al did as he was told and Carter took it with a nod before heading down the hallway.

 

The group of them couldn’t follow the guard so they didn’t have any other option but to wait at the front desk. The Lions in Ed’s mind were unimpressed with the wait and kept pestering Ed for a time frame for when Mustang would be released. Ed was growing steadily more annoyed with them as the seconds passed before asking them to keep it down so he didn’t get a headache.

 

“I didn’t think you were this fond of Mustang,” Ed teased when the Lions settled down at his request.

 

 _“We’re not. We just don’t like seeing him in jail for something he didn’t do. We don’t dislike him_ that _much,”_ Green told him, a little huffily. Ed snorted with laughter and it wasn’t until he noticed the other’s raised eyebrows that he realised he’d done so out loud.

 

“Just remembered something funny,” Ed muttered, appeasing the soldier at the sign-in desk but everyone looked at him knowingly. “You guys are gonna get me locked in an asylum one of these days,” Ed muttered, making sure to speak telepathically this time.

 

 _“You wouldn’t change us though,”_ Black said, a little too smugly. Ed rolled his eyes but couldn’t deny that. The Lions smugness level ratcheted up to a whole new level but Ed decided to ignore them.

 

Suddenly, Hawkeye and Havoc were standing at full attention while Al stood straight-back in a respectful manner and Ed peered around to find the reason why. Mustang was striding down the hallway, dressed in full uniform, minus his hat, with his hands free and flanked by two guards. The overnight bag Al had packed for him must’ve contained a comb or something because his hair looked artfully messy like it normally would rather than the tangled mess it had been last time Ed saw him. Said bag was slinged over one of his shoulders, looking sad now that it no longer held anything. The bruise Ed had given him was now turning an ugly shade of yellow and green, not standing out as much against his skin as it had done so when it was fresh.

 

“It’s good to see you four,” Mustang greeted as he came to a stop in front of them.

 

“It’s good to see you as well, General Mustang, Sir,” Hawkeye greeted, snapping a perfect salute, Havoc mimicking her by her side.

 

“It’s good to see you out of that cell, Sir,” Alphonse greeted, smiling at Mustang, who returned the smile.

 

“I must admit it is nice being out of the cell, Alphonse,” Mustang said, a half-smile on his lips.

 

“I think that cell suited you, personally,” Ed said, shrugging his automail shoulder. Mustang’s face had a flash of irritation on it before he managed to smooth it over.

 

“Maybe you should see how it suits you, Fullmetal,” Mustang said, faux pleasantness in his voice.

 

“Nah, tried the Fort Briggs ones and didn’t fancy it,” Ed drawled back.

 

“If you’ll excuse my interruption, Sirs, but Fuhrer Grumman is expecting us back in his office soon,” Hawkeye informed them, effectively putting a stop to any banter that could happen.

 

“Of course, Captain Hawkeye. We shouldn’t keep Fuhrer Grumman waiting,” Mustang said. “Let’s go,” he ordered.

 

“You do remember they’re technically still my team, right? I mean, you haven’t been completely reinstated until we go and talk with Fuhrer Grumman,” Ed pointed out causally.

 

“That is technically correct,” Hawkeye agreed, causing Mustang to look slightly betrayed and worried for a moment. Ed valiantly tried not to let his amusement show while Al rolled his eyes at his brother and Havoc coughed suspiciously.

 

“But Mustang is right, for once,” Ed said. “We should go meet with the Fuhrer,” Ed told them. Mustang blustered for a moment or two before following the group of four when they started leaving, lest he be left behind.

 

“That was mean, Brother,” Al whispered, admonishing Edward.

 

“I know but it was funny! Did you see his face?” Ed whispered back gleefully as they passed the soldier guarding the entrance to the holding cell building.

 

“I hope you haven’t taught my team any of your bad habits, Fullmetal,” Mustang scowled as he walked between Hawkeye and Havoc.

 

“Please, you and I both know the team really belongs to Miss Riza,” Ed told him. Mustang couldn’t argue his point because he wasn’t wrong. “Besides, I think the team worked great while you were on your mini-vacation,” Ed said.

 

“I was in a jail cell, not on some beach somewhere!” Mustang protested.

 

“Edward does have a point though, Sir,” Hawkeye said before Ed could retaliate. “The team has been working exceptionally smoothly whilst you were indisposed. They even managed to stay on top of their work while I was being held captive and consequently hospitalised. I would certainly hate to see any member of the team not be able to stay up to the standards set by members under Edward’s command, including the standard we saw from the team leader,” Hawkeye said, voice taking on a dangerous edge as she gripped her favourite pistol a little too tightly for anyone’s comfort.

 

“I’m sure we’ll manage,” Mustang gulped, eyeing Hawkeye’s hand before relaxing a little when it moved away from her holstered weapon.

 

“This’ll be great,” Ed said, grinning widely as he led everyone towards Grumman’s office to get everything back the way it should be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you thought to this chapter! I'd really appreciate it!


	27. Chapter 27

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric.” The use of his title had Ed snap his attention to the speaker, an order for them to not use his title on his lips when he recognised the person addressing him.

 

“Good afternoon, Lieutenant-General Armstrong,” he greeted, complete with a salute. They were currently standing in one of the many corridors in Central Command, only a few turns away from Grumman’s office. Armstrong, Ed deduced, must’ve had her meeting with the Fuhrer and was on her way out when she noticed them.

 

“General Armstrong, looking lovely as ever,” Mustang greeted, amusement glinting in his eyes at the irritated twitch her face gave.

 

“General Mustang. I see you’ve been released,” Armstrong stated, nodding at everyone to drop their salutes. Her expression told everyone she wasn’t exactly thrilled with his release.

 

“Yes, I have been. I believe I have you to partially thank for that. If someone had asked me whether I believed you would’ve assumed I was your attacker, I would’ve said yes. Maybe you like me more than you realise,” Mustang smirked and Armstrong’s eye twitched.

 

“You do know that if she kills you, we’ll help her hide your body and clean up the evidence, right?” Ed asked conversationally. Havoc and Al didn’t deny Ed’s words but more concerning for Mustang was the fact that Hawkeye didn’t reprimand Ed in any way for what he said and that Armstrong’s lips twitched in an aborted smile.

 

“I would never be foolish enough to kill a man for my own personal gain in full view of others, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Armstrong snapped but Mustang was a little surprised that the response lacked the venom he would’ve expected.

 

“Of course not, Lieutenant-General Armstrong,” Ed said respectfully. Armstrong looked pleased with his attitude whereas Mustang was stunned. To be fair, he hadn’t witnessed Ed around the eldest Armstrong sibling except for during Promised Day and it’s not like they really had a chance to chit-chat during the fighting.

 

“Are you healing well, Lieutenant-General Armstrong?” Hawkeye asked. Mustang wasn’t surprised that Armstrong didn’t bite Hawkeye’s head off for asking, as she would have had anyone else posed such a question to her. The two women had always had a healthy respect for each other that granted one the power to be a bit more personal with the other than what anyone else was normally granted.

 

“I am. I trust you’re expected to make a full recovery as well?” Armstrong said, glancing at her casted arm.

 

“Yes, General. My doctors have already cleared me to resume my full duties,” Hawkeye told her and she nodded in satisfaction.

 

“Good. Central can’t afford to lose any soldiers of your calibre,” Armstrong said.

 

“Thank you, general,” Hawkeye nodded. Armstrong turned her attention to Edward after giving Hawkeye a sharp nod.

 

“I trust you haven’t forgotten our agreement, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” Armstrong said, voice promising violence if he had.

 

“Not at all, general,” Ed said, shaking his head. “We’re leaving for Resembool in the morning but should be back two days later. If you’re agreeable, I can call Major Armstrong before we’re due to arrive in Central and he can let you know?” He suggested, hoping she wouldn’t take offence to it.

 

“I suppose that will be sufficient. I’m sure I’ll have a few hours spare that day to talk to you in length about your adventures. Inform my brother of your expected arrival and I will make arrangements to speak with you once you arrive. If, for whatever reason I cannot talk to you the day you are due back in Central, I will talk with you the morning after,” Armstrong informed him matter-of-factly.

 

“I will. Thank you, Lieutenant-General Armstrong,” Ed said, nodding.

 

“Very well. I’ll be taking my leave now. Unlike some who are content to spend their days lazing about and flirting, I have many things that require my attention, even from here in Central.” Armstrong didn’t look at Mustang when she spoke but it was plainly obvious by her words, if not her tone, who she was talking about.

 

“Have a good afternoon, Lieutenant-General Armstrong,” Hawkeye said, snapping a salute. Edward, Havoc and Mustang did the same, as did Alphonse. She nodded to them, releasing them from their salutes, before striding away from them without glancing back.

 

“It’s good to see the head injury didn’t affect her winning personality,” Mustang drawled.

 

“You’re just jealous because people respect her more,” Ed snarked. “We should be heading to Grumman’s office,” Ed said before Mustang could retaliate. “Let’s go,” he said, shooing the others in the direction they’d been heading before their chat with Armstrong.

 

“You do realise you aren’t in charge of me, even if you still are _technically_ in charge of my team,” Mustang pointed out and Ed levelled him with a glare so unimpressed, Hawkeye felt a surge of pride.

 

“You’re welcome to stay here but since this meeting is to reinstate you, you might wanna reconsider,” Ed told him flatly. Mustang grumbled but followed behind the group as they followed Ed’s lead, ignoring the way his Lieutenant and Captain looked far too amused, in his opinion. 

* * *

 

It didn’t take them very long to reach the Fuhrer’s outer office doors since they had run into Armstrong not too far from it. Ed was first through the doors and first to greet Samantha upon their arrival. As he was the last through, Havoc closed the outer office doors behind them.

 

“Hello again, Edward,” Samantha smiled prettily. “I see you were successful in your task,” she said, glancing at Mustang, smile twitching downward slightly before perking up again when she looked back at Edward. Mustang didn’t take it personally; he’d always known Samantha had taken a dislike to him when he’d flirted with her during their first meeting. To be honest, Hawkeye had been very chilling towards him for the rest of that day. That had been when he started dampening down his instinct to flirt with any pretty woman when he first met them, while Hawkeye was around at least.

 

“Yes, we were. Can we talk with Fuhrer Grumman yet?” Ed asked once they were in front of Samantha’s desk.

 

“Of course,” she told him. “His standing order that you are to be permitted into his office any time is still in effect, after all,” she informed him.

 

“Huh, I thought he would’ve rescinded that order by now,” Ed mused out loud.

 

Samantha gave him another smile but didn’t say anything as she stood from behind her desk and headed for the doors that led to the inner office. She knocked, paused for a moment, then pushed the heavy-set doors open, permitting them entrance inside. Ed and Al entered first, followed by Hawkeye and Havoc then finally Mustang.

 

“Ah, thank you, Samantha,” Grumman said as he stood. Samantha nodded before heading back to her desk, shutting the doors behind her. “It’s good to see you, Mustang,” Grumman grinned, offering his hand for Mustang to shake, who took it gratefully.

 

“It’s good to be out of that cell, Fuhrer Grumman,” Mustang told him, smiling broadly.

 

“I imagine it is,” Grumman said, gesturing for them to head over to his desk. “There is some paperwork I need you to fill out so I can officially reinstate you to your rank of brigadier-general and move the team from Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s command to back under yours,” Grumman explained.

 

“Come on, Mustang, you should be positively _thrilled_ at the prospect of getting back into the habit of signing papers,” Edward teased, earning himself a glare from Mustang while Grumman winked at him before turning back to Mustang.

 

“I have the papers all ready. Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, I’ll need you to sign some papers, testifying that you’re willingly transferring control of the team back over to Mustang,” Grumman said. Mustang inwardly smirked. After spending nearly a week as him and having to deal with all of the paperwork that came with the job, surely Edward would be sick of paperwork by now as well.

  
“Sure thing. Where are the papers you need me to sign?” Ed asked, leaning one hip against Grumman’s desk.

 

“That eager to get rid of us, chief?” Havoc asked teasingly.

 

“Miss Riza is the only decent one out of the lot of you and you know it,” Ed teased back, making Havoc let out a bark of laughter.

 

“Can’t argue with that,” he chuckled. Grumman pretended not to hear this going on as he sorted through the papers on his desk.

 

“Here you go, Edward. Just sign these papers and you’ll no longer be in charge of the team,” Grumman told him, laying some papers in front of the blonde and handing him a pen. Edward signed each paper before handing them back over to Grumman.

 

“There you go. Anything else?” Ed asked, spinning the pen between his automail fingers.

 

“No, the rest is for General Mustang to complete,” Grumman told him and Ed handed the pen back. “If you wish, the four of you may wait in the outer office with Samantha while General Mustang completes his paperwork,” Grumman offered as he placed a sizeable stack of papers in front of Mustang.

 

“I would like to be permitted to stay, Fuhrer Grumman,” Hawkeye requested and Grumman nodded in agreement.

 

“That would be fine,” Grumman told her before looking at the others questioningly.

 

“I’m waiting out there with Samantha. That would be infinitely more entertaining than watching Mustang try to act entertained by his paperwork,” Ed said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the doors.

 

“I’ll wait outside as well,” Alphonse said and Havoc nodded in agreement.

 

“Very well. I doubt that I’ll need to talk to the three of you once General Mustang is finished in here so I’ll bid you a good afternoon now,” Grumman said.

 

“See you later, Grumman,” Ed said, taking a couple of steps towards the doors before pausing and facing Grumman again as he remembered something. “Mustang’s shouting us all dinner if you wanna join us tonight,” Ed told him.

 

“I’m doing what?!” Mustang demanded, sputtering from where he sat.

 

“Thank you for the invitation, Edward, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to join you tonight. I’ve already promised my wife I’ll be home in time for dinner with her,” Grumman told him with a polite smile, ignoring Mustang for the moment.

 

“No worries. Catch you later than, Grumman,” Ed said, offering a salute then a cheery wave when Grumman dismissed him. Al and Havoc offered their own salutes and goodbyes before the three of them left the office.

 

“Leaving so soon?” Samantha asked once the doors shut behind the three men, though she frowned when she noticed two members of their group were missing.

 

“Nah, not yet. Mustang and Miss Riza are still talking with the Fuhrer so we’re gonna wait here, if that’s not an inconvenience to you, Miss Samantha?” Ed asked, a little worried they might not be able too.

 

“Of course it’s not, Edward. Make yourselves comfortable,” Samantha said, smiling brightly as she gestured to the couches behind them.

 

“Thank you,” Ed and Al said at the same time while Havoc dipped his head in gratitude. The three of them settled themselves comfortably on the couches and readied themselves for a long wait. 

* * *

 

“Whenever you’re ready, Mustang, so are the papers,” Grumman said, breaking Mustang out of his stunned silence after Ed’s announcement about the dinner plans. Grumman smirked in amusement as Mustang visibly shook himself from his reverie and moved to sit in one of the chairs on the other side of Grumman’s desk. Grumman slid the paperwork over to him and placed the pen Edward had used on top of it.

 

“Not even an hour out of the cell and I’m doing paperwork,” Mustang groused as he picked up the pen.

 

“I suggest you get used to it, Sir,” Hawkeye told him non-plussed. Mustang would’ve pouted a little if Grumman wasn’t in the office.

 

Truth be told, it didn’t take Mustang very long to complete the paperwork Grumman had put in front of him. For the most part, they were forms dictating that he was to receive the rank of brigadier-general once more, that he acknowledged that his release from prison happened when the documents said it happened and that he’d received back any belongings that had been on him at the time of his arrest and that his team would be back under his command. There was no or minimal chatter between Hawkeye and Grumman while Mustang worked.

 

“That’s the last one, Fuhrer Grumman,” Mustang said, signing the piece of paper with a flourish and pushing the stack back towards Grumman.

 

“Very good,” Grumman said as he accepted the stack and started going through it, checking it was all in order. Despite knowing it was, Mustang couldn’t help the small amount of nerves he was feeling as he watched the Fuhrer check everything. He noticed the barest amount of tension in Hawkeye’s frame, telling him she was also slightly worried. Finally, Grumman flipped to the final page, checked it and placed it aside before standing up and offering a relieved Mustang his hand. “Congratulations, Brigadier-General Mustang. You have been officially reinstated into the military with no repercussions. You are also officially in charge of your former team once more, taking command back from their now-former temporary leader, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric. As today is nearly over and your team has – under Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s order – completed all of their designated work, I am granting you and the entirety of your team the rest of the day off.” Mustang glanced at Hawkeye, who seemed as startled as he was at this news, though she did a very good job at hiding it.

 

“Thank you, Fuhrer Grumman. I’m sure I speak for all of my team when I saw that we appreciate the kind gesture,” Mustang said, dipping his head slightly.

 

“I’m sure you do. I understand Lieutenant-Colonel Elric has plans to take his brother and the team of foreign agents to his home town tomorrow,” Grumman said. Hawkeye immediately nodded.

 

“Yes, Sir. Lieutenant-Colonel Elric has already asked me to procure their tickets for the train tomorrow morning,” Hawkeye informed him. “In fact, Sir, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and I were hoping to ask you during our previous meeting for permission to book myself and General Mustang tickets to accompany them on the train,” she told him. Grumman raised a brow before leaning back in his chair contemplatively.

 

“Would it just be the two of you joining them and how long would you require?” Grumman asked.

 

“It would be, Sir, and I believe Lieutenant-Colonel Elric has no plans to stay away from Central for more than three days. One day to travel, one day for automail maintenance and for himself and his brother to say goodbye to our foreign friends and one day to travel back,” Hawkeye told him. Grumman thought for a few moments while Mustang tried to figure out when exactly he himself was informed of this decision.

 

“Very well. I will grant you, General Mustang and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric three days leave, starting tomorrow morning. You may still have the afternoon off, like I originally said.” Grumman paused for a moment, seemingly considering something. “Before I dismiss you, there is another matter I would like to address that concerns you, Mustang,” Grumman said.

 

“Yes, Sir?” Mustang asked.

 

“I’m not sure whether you still know this or not but you are still considered the top candidate for Major-General Bernard Andrews job, especially now that you have been reinstated,” Grumman divulged. “General Andrews team has been running under the temporary supervision of Andrews’ second-in-command, Lieutenant-Colonel Eloise Lambert, and while she is doing an impressive job, she does not have the necessary qualifications, experience or rank to take on the position permanently.” Mustang nodded. He knew Lambert, naturally, and knew she was a competent soldier but he also knew that she had no desire to assume Andrews position so early. “While I would certainly like to, I cannot offer you the position outright. There are a few other people who would be suitable for the position, and deserving of it, that I need to interview as well.”

 

“I understand, Fuhrer Grumman,” Mustang said, side-glancing Hawkeye to try and gauge her reaction to what Grumman was saying. As usual, she gave nothing away unless you knew what to look for and Mustang could tell she was a little confused about what Grumman was telling them.

 

“I will be conducting those interviews during your leave over the next three days and I will have an answer by the time you are due to arrive back. But I would like you to know that whoever is given Major-General Andrews position will also assume command of his team,” Grumman told them. Mustang saw his surprise reflected in Hawkeye and he knew she had assumed the same thing. Since anyone in a high enough position to be considered for Andrews job would’ve had their own team already, Mustang had assumed Andrews team would be disbanded and absorbed into different parts of the military. Grumman suddenly clapped his hands together and smiled at them. “I think that’s enough business talk for one day. I promised you three and a half days off and I imagine you’d like to get started with that so you may go, General Mustang, Captain Hawkeye,” Grumman told them cheerily.

 

“Thank you, Fuhrer Grumman,” Mustang said as he stood and saluted. Hawkeye did the same by his side and he relished in the feeling of being able to so once more.

 

“I do have one favour to ask of you though,” Grumman said, a little apologetic at stopping them from leaving. “I would like to be able to thank the BAU team personally myself so if you wouldn’t mind staying in your office for the next hour, I should be free by then to duck in and say hello,” Grumman requested.

 

“Of course not, Fuhrer Grumman. I’m sure no one would mind that,” Mustang told him and he nodded gratefully.

 

“Thank you,” Grumman said. “Also, I do expect you to report back to me once you’ve all arrived back in Central, including Edward,” Grumman told them and they both nodded in confirmation of his orders. “Excellent. Enjoy yourselves in the meantime. I believe you have a celebratory dinner to be planning,” Grumman said, hiding his grin at Mustang’s scowl.

 

“That we do. Thank you for your time, Fuhrer Grumman, and we will see you later this afternoon,” Hawkeye said with another salute that Mustang matched and Grumman waved them both out of.

 

“I’ll see the both of you later,” Grumman said, obviously dismissing them. Both nodded before turning to the set of doors and leaving through them. 

* * *

 

“So are you officially back in the military yet or do I have to keep showing you up at your own job?” Edward asked as soon as he spotted Mustang and Hawkeye leaving Grumman’s inner office. Samantha made a suspicious coughing noise from behind her desk as Mustang glared at Ed.

 

“Brother,” Al sighed tiredly from where he sat.

 

“Tell me I’m wrong,” Ed challenged and Alphonse sighed once more but didn’t raise an argument, causing Ed to silently gloat in victory.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman has granted General Mustang and myself three days leave to accompany you to Resembool. He will be paying us a visit later today to give his gratitude to the team of consultants for their work on this case but he has granted us the rest of the afternoon once he has been by. Yes, Havoc,” Hawkeye looked pointedly at the lieutenant who had just been about to open his mouth to say something, “the afternoon off is for the entire team,” she told him and he pumped his fist in victory.

 

“Always liked Grumman better than the rest of them generals,” Havoc grinned. Hawkeye didn’t roll her eyes but everyone could tell she wanted too.

 

“I suggest we head to the office, General Mustang. The rest of the team and our foreign friends are waiting for us,” Hawkeye prodded Mustang, who nodded in agreement.

 

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Let’s go,” Mustang ordered. Ed rolled his eyes as he stood up.

 

“Not even an hour out of that cell and he’s given orders already. Is it too late to give him back?” Ed muttered to Havoc who squeezed his flesh shoulder lightly.

 

“’fraid so, chief,” Havoc murmured back, voice coloured in amusement and he chuckled when Ed sighed in disappointment. Havoc outright laughed when Mustang shot Ed a suspicious and nasty glare that only darkened at Havoc’s reaction.

 

“Thought so,” Ed grumbled before giving Samantha a bright smile. “Bye, Miss Samantha,” he said as they started heading for the doors.

 

“Bye, Edward. Enjoy your time off,” Samantha called back as she gave the group a wave. Alphonse called out his own goodbye to the Fuhrer’s secretary as they went through the doors and Samantha barely managed a response before the doors shut behind the group. 

* * *

 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Ed snarled as two unfortunately familiar faces approached them only a corridor away from Grumman’s office. “Can’t I get one fricking day without seeing your damned faces?” Ed asked rhetorically, throwing his automail arm up in exasperation.

 

“Easy, Fullmetal,” Mustang said, resting a hand on Ed’s automail shoulder lightly as he took in the displeased faces of Generals Combes and Widdon as the two men came to a stop in front of them. “I imagine they’re still trying to recover from the utter humiliation they’ve recently suffered at having been proven wrong about my guilt,” Mustang said coolly.

 

“Yeah, well, maybe if they’d at least tried doing their jobs rather than abuse their positions, they might have come through with a little bit of dignity intact,” Ed sneered and the two generals bristled.

 

“Brigadier-General Mustang, it is a pleasure,” Widdon looked like he was sucking on a piece of lemon as he said that word, “to see you. General Combes and I would like to express our deepest apologies for any suffering you’ve faced during your imprisonment but I am sure you understand that we were only doing our jobs and trying to bring justice and peace to the families and friends of the victims,” Widdon went on saying though he didn’t look particularly pleased at what he was saying.

 

“I didn’t realise the word ‘apology’ was in your verbal dictionary,” Ed snarked.

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, we may not be able to give you orders, as per the clause in your contract, but you would do well to show us the respect our position entitles us, especially in front of your commanding officer,” Widdon slightly snarled.

 

“Holy shit, did you actually just get my rank right?” Ed asked, astounded. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed – and with the observational skills you’ve shown so far, I seriously doubt you have – but I don’t give people respect unless they’ve earned it. For example, Captain Hawkeye, Fuhrer Grumman, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes; they have all earned my respect. Mustang’s earned some of it but the two of you? You’ve earned fuck-all,” Ed snapped. Both generals puffed up, anger oozing out of their pores.

 

“Settle down, Fullmetal,” Mustang ordered, stepping forward and slightly in front of Edward, his hand dropping from Ed’s shoulder as he did so, though Ed barely noticed considering he was more confused by Mustang stepping in front of him. “You’ll have to forgive him. He tends to get snappish if he doesn’t get enough caffeine in his system,” Mustang drawled. Ed huffed but didn’t say anything.

 

“I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s an impertinent bas-“ Combes started growling but Mustang cut him off.

 

“I suggest you watch how you talk to my subordinate, General Combes.” Mustang didn’t quite snap but it was a near thing. His tone certainly had the two generals bristle once more. “Now, I understand that you’ve had a rough 24hours, what with me being proven completely innocent of the crimes you swore I was guilty of until you were blue in the face so I’m willing to overlook that little slip just this once however I had better not witness it or hear of it happening to any of my team or I’ll take the appropriate action against the two of you,” Mustang informed them icily.

 

“Are you threatening us?” Combes asked, sounding genuinely shocked that Mustang would do something like that.

 

“Of course not, General Combes,” Mustang laughed slightly. “I’m merely enlightening you of what would happen should you try speaking to any of my subordinates like that again,” Mustang told him with a smirk. “As entertaining as this has been, I have better things to be doing with my time now that I’ve had my name cleared and I’m sure the two of you have more conspiracy theories to cook up,” Mustang said with an air of finality.

 

“While the two of you do that,” Ed said, moving to stand next to Mustang, “just remember what I said about Elrics holding grudges. You’ve shown your hand by trying to push to have Mustang executed and now we know you have something to hide; something you know Mustang would’ve reported you for if he decided to go digging into the two of you, like he did Henley. Just something to keep in mind,” Ed shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly.

 

“We have nothing to hide. We are loyal to the military and our Fuhrer. We would never do anything to betray either of them nor would we do anything to dishonour them,” Widdon claimed snootily and Ed didn’t bother stopping his snort of disbelief.

 

“Oh, like how you totally honoured the military with your temper tantrum at the hospital in front of Lieutenant-General Armstrong’s doctor and family or like how you honoured the military when you tried to emotionally blackmail Lieutenant-General Armstrong into naming Mustang as he attacker?” Ed asked sarcastically. “I mean, those are just the examples I’m coming up with off the top of my head but I’m sure there’s plenty of other examples we could find if we looked hard enough.”

 

“Those were simple misunderstandings caused by the pressure put on us to find the person responsible for the heinous crimes that had been committed and we have already apologised for our behaviour,” Widdon ground out.

 

“And I bet those apologies nearly caused your pride physical pain,” Ed snarked back. “Not to mention caused bruises to your egos when you realised you couldn’t bully anyone into naming Mustang as the criminal.” Both generals faces were turning intriguing shades of red and purple as they struggled to stop themselves from exploding at Ed, knowing it wouldn’t end well for them.

 

“Like I said, generals, we have things to do this afternoon and you seem to be on your way to a meeting with Fuhrer Grumman. We certainly wouldn’t want you to waste any more of his precious time so we’ll take our leave now,” Mustang said, smoothly cutting in before the generals could say anything to Ed.

 

“And what, Brigadier-General Mustang, do you mean by ‘waste any more of his time’, exactly?” Widdon asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

 

“Just that I’m sure he’s seen enough of the two of you, what with the numerous times you were in his office trying to push him into having me placed in front of a firing squad as quickly as possible,” Mustang told them like it was obvious. “I’ll give you a bit of free advice though, before we go our separate ways,” Mustang said, taking a step forward. “The Elrics may hold one hell of a grudge but so do Mustangs and you’ve managed to piss off all three of us. So, I’d suggest, with all due respect – as little as it may be – that the two of you tread lightly,” Mustang said, keeping his voice low before stepping back, putting himself level with Edward once more. “Now, we really must be going. Good afternoon, gentlemen,” Mustang said, nodding his head slightly before stepping around them. The other four immediately followed his lead and not one of them looked back at the two generals as the group made their way towards Mustang’s office. 

* * *

 

After the unwanted impromptu meeting with Widdon and Combes, the walk to the office was completely uneventful. Every soldier they did pass respectfully nodded and offered their congratulations or comments that they’d believed Mustang had been innocent all along. Mustang had thanked each of them before dismissing their salutes and the group moved along. It added on several extra minutes to their journey but they finally made it back to the office. Mustang paused in front of his outer office door almost imperceptibly before grabbing the handle and opening the door as self-assured as he always would.

 

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Mustang greeted as soon as he opened the door, causing several people to jump and face the door.

 

“General Mustang!” “It’s good to see you, Sir!” Several people cried out at once, causing everyone’s greetings to become a jumbled mess.

 

“It certainly is excellent to see the lot of you without bars in between us,” Mustang said with a grin.

 

“I imagine it is,” Hotch said, taking the few steps needed to reach Mustang and offer a hand for him to shake. “It’s very good to see you out of that cell, General Mustang,” Hotch said sincerely as he shook Mustang’s hand.

 

“I believe this might be a little overdue but I would like to take this opportunity, while we’re all together, to thank each of you for your help in sorting out this mess and not only finding Belmont but clearing my name,” Mustang said, straightening up a little and glancing at all of them. “I know that you were only doing what was expected of you and what you were trained for but you managed to pull off the seemingly impossible in less than a week and with major pushback and pressure placed on you. Lesser men and women would have given in, given up or simply not been able to achieve the same results as quickly as you did so thank you.” Mustang bowed far more deeply than Ed had ever seen him do.

 

“There’s no need to thank us, General Mustang,” Rossi said. “Besides, we hear you’ll be shouting everyone involved in this case dinner and drinks tonight. That’ll be thanks enough,” Rossi grinned, giving Ed a shadow of a wink when Mustang’s face pinched slightly.

 

“Yes, I heard about that. Has there been any decision as to where we’re actually having this celebratory dinner?” Mustang asked, doing his level best to keep the annoyance at having this sprung on him.

 

“Madame Christmas has extended an invitation to us to enjoy her hospitality,” Rossi told him but before Mustang could answer, Hawkeye cut in.

 

“No, we can enjoy a nightcap at the Madame’s bar but we will not be spending the whole night there. Some of our team are too young for that kind of establishment and I know that a couple of others certainly wouldn’t enjoy the atmosphere,” Hawkeye’s tone left no room for argument.

 

“Ah yes, we certainly wouldn’t want to corrupt anyone underage,” Mustang said, smirking at Edward.

 

“I’ve seen you drunk, bastard, remember? That was enough to make me decide I’ll never drink,” Ed said, rolling his eyes. “I certainly never want to make that big a fool of myself.” Mustang blustered slightly at most of the others had to cover up their amusement quickly.

 

“I’m sure we’ll be able to find a restaurant suitable enough for everyone by tonight. Perhaps Sheska or Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes can help us decide. I believe they’re expecting a phone call to learn the details but I can call them and see whether they have the time to talk with us and help with the planning. Perhaps after Fuhrer Grumman has paid us a visit?” Hawkeye asked and Mustang nodded.

 

“That would be excellent, thank you, Captain Hawkeye,” Mustang said with a nod. “I imagine you plan to procure our tickets for tomorrow after you’ve made that phone call?” He asked and Hawkeye nodded.

 

“Yes, General Mustang,” she confirmed.

 

“Where are you heading off to, General Mustang?” Fuery asked curiously.

 

“Ah, Captain Hawkeye and I are accompanying Fullmetal, Alphonse and the BAU to Resembool tomorrow. We will be back in Central two days after our departure,” Mustang told him. “Speaking of time off, Fuhrer Grumman has been kind enough to grant us the rest of the work day off to do as we please, so long as we remain in the office until he has visited,” Mustang told them. He felt himself grinning at the cheers from Breda and Fuery and the smile Falman allowed himself to show.

 

“So, what do we do to pass the time until the Fuhrer’s visit?” Morgan asked and Mustang smiled before walking over to a random chair and sitting in it.

 

“Why don’t you all sit,” Mustang said, gesturing to the empty chairs, “and we can talk about anything that happened during my time in that cell that I never got told. But first, I’d like to know something, Fullmetal,” Mustang said, looking at Ed as he sat in between Morgan and his brother.

 

“What?” Ed asked, slightly curious. From the looks on some of the other’s faces, they were curious as well.

 

“Have you told the BAU about our third adventure?” Mustang asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Yeah, showed them the tablet and everything. They know all about it,” Ed told him.

 

“Good,” Mustang said. “Because I want to know what Voltron had been up to while you were busy working the case,” Mustang told him and Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“The Lions already told what they were up to,” Ed paused for a moment, getting a glazed look in his eye for a moment before focusing back on Mustang. “They said I can tell you if I wanted too,” Ed told him, leaning back in his chair comfortably.

 

“You know what I’d actually really love to know about those Lions?” JJ asked and both Ed and Mustang looked at her. Ed nodded for her to continue. “Why don’t the Lions like Mustang?” She asked.

 

“I don’t know. Either they haven’t given Fullmetal a proper answer or he hasn’t passed it onto me,” Mustang told her, glancing at Ed, who merely rolled his eyes.

 

“They haven’t given me a proper reason and you bloody well know it. Ever considered that maybe they just don’t like you?” Ed retorted. He heard the mental equivalent of a throat being cleared in his mind and held up a finger to stop anything Mustang was about to say.

 

 _“Actually, there is a reason,”_ Black admitted, causing Ed to frown.

 

“Are you going to tell me or just keep it at that?” Ed asked out loud before realising he’d done so. “Ah, Black’s telling me they actually do have a reason for not liking you so much,” Ed told Mustang.

 

“Well?” Mustang demanded, leaning forward slightly.

 

“Patience, bastard. They’re thinking about telling me,” Ed lectured, much to amusement of everyone around them.

 

“Well, tell them to think faster,” Mustang muttered, causing Ed to scowl at him.

 

“Do you want them to tell you or not? If so, shut up,” Ed snapped before turning his mind back to the Lions. “Sorry about him but you know he’s hardwired to be an arsehole,” Ed silently told the Lions, who had been sending waves of increasing annoyance through their bond while Mustang spoke. Now, though, it was replaced with amusement.

 

 _“It’s quite alright, cub. We’re used to his attitude,”_ Black laughed in his mind.

 

“So, are you going to actually tell me why you never warmed up to Mustang that much?” Ed asked telepathically. He could see everyone around him waiting intently, like they knew what he’d just asked the Lions.

 

 _“You know that your bond with us allows us to see into your memories and, if you wished, you could see into ours as well?”_ Blue asked and Ed nodded. This had been something the Lions had explained when he went back to Amestris. They hadn’t told him before that he could look into their memories because they didn’t think the bond would survive the distance between them.

 

 _“We weren’t sure whether what had happened to us when the bond was first initiated also happened to you. When Black first spoke to you, she initiated the bond to herself with you. Did you feel anything when she first spoke to you?”_ Green asked and Ed’s brow furrowed in thought as he cast his mind back.

  
“Other than the overwhelming confusion I felt at hearing someone else’s voice in my head and the adrenaline rush I got from escaping Lance and Keith after our first meeting, I can’t think of anything else,” Ed told them honestly.

 

 _“What about when the rest of us first spoke to you? Did you feel anything then?”_ Blue pressed and Ed mentally shook his head after a few moments.

 

“No, I don’t think so,” Ed said, a little confused about what they asking. He felt the Lions sigh a little.

 

 _“Alright, that doesn’t matter. I believe that your other feelings overwhelmed the rush of partial memories you may have gotten from us at the time each of us first spoke to you. I’m sure that if you tried doing so now, you could find them somewhere in your memory,”_ Black told him. _“When we each first spoke to you, we initiated the bond. When you spoke back to us, you completed the bond. When that happened, each of us were given access to random snippets of your memories. Only two or three seconds worth of each memory,”_ Black explained and Ed felt his usual anger flare at knowing something had been kept from him but it was gone moments after he felt it. He knew the Lions would have told him if they’d known he hadn’t known.

 

“So, what does that have to do with Mustang?” Ed asked, keeping the conversation telepathic for now.

 

 _“Well, some of those tiny snippets showed Mustang,”_ Yellow told him.

 

 _“And we weren’t impressed by what we saw,”_ Red growled slightly. Ed felt like he knew where this was going now. _“We may have used those snippets to form our original opinion of Mustang. Though, in our defence, he didn’t make a stellar first impression so our opinion didn’t change much,”_ Red told him.

 

“Have they told you anything yet?” JJ asked, distracting Ed from the Lions for a moment.

 

“No, not yet. They’ve been explaining some stuff about the bond. They got to see small portions of my memories and some of what they saw had Mustang in them,” Ed explained. “Whatever they saw, plus Mustang’s not-so-shining first impression on them, didn’t give them a high opinion of him,” Ed told her.

 

“What did they see in your memories?” Mustang asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“Dunno yet,” Ed told him. “Don’t be pushy or they won’t tell you at all,” Ed pointed a warning finger at Mustang before he could open his mouth. Mustang’s jaw tightened in annoyance while Havoc and Morgan snorted in amusement.

 

 _“I think we’ve had enough fun keeping the answer from him,”_ Black laughed slightly, as did Ed, when they felt the other Lions groan in fake protest.

 

“So, what exactly did you see in those memories that made you not like Mustang?” Ed asked, wanting to know himself more than he had any other time. He could feel the others waiting with bated breath for him to relay the Lions response.

 

 _“A lot of what we saw were moments during your arguments and we felt the echo of what you felt during them,”_ Blue explained. _“These moments wouldn’t have affected us so much by themselves since everyone feels like they’re not being listened too or taken seriously during some arguments but there were three specific moments we saw that solidified that opinion,”_ Black told him. Ed was confused now.

 

“Wait, what do you mean you all saw them? Did all of you see the same snips of memories when the bonds were initiated?” Ed asked but felt Green shake her head immediately.

 

 _“No, we shared the memories with each other. It wasn’t really a conscious decision on our part; it was something we did out of habit,”_ Green said apologetically. Ed found himself not entirely angry at them for sharing his memories with each other. He understood what it was like to do something so often, it formed an automatic habit that you don’t even notice until you find yourself in the middle of doing that same thing and realising you hadn’t even made a conscious decision to do so.

 

“Alright, so what were those memories?” Ed asked, feeling Mustang’s impatient stare on him, even though Ed wasn’t looking at him.

 

 _“Blue saw the first one. Red witnessed the second one and Yellow was the one who saw the third memory snippet,”_ Black told him. Ed could feel Black nudge her sisters forward mentally, making them share what they saw with Ed. The blonde alchemist wasn’t sure if their hesitation was because they wanted to keep the memories from him or because they wanted to continue dragging the joke of not telling Mustang out.

 

 _“I saw the moment the two of you met the first time,”_ Blue admitted and Ed shifted a little in his seat. _“I saw how angry he was. Even though it was a memory, I was terrified for you. I also felt the unbearable pain you were in and the fear and confusion you felt in those moments. I could tell how young you were, which was part of the reason I was so angry at Mustang for his past behaviour,”_ Blue said, a little subdued.

 

“Well, Mustang has always been an arsehole so you shouldn’t really hold that against him,” Ed said lightly, grinning when he heard Mustang’s mutters about him that were likely not flattering.

 

 _“Oh, we know and we don’t hold his reaction against him, especially considering we now know why he reacted like that but you have to look at it from our perspective,”_ Blue started saying. _“Remember, we only had moments of that memory to look at. From what we knew at the time, we saw a grown man lashing out at a child who had been severely injured very recently for no apparent reason,”_ she explained and Ed made a soft ‘ah’ of understanding.

 

“The first memory they saw was our first meeting. They weren’t impressed by you, a grown man, yelling at me, a severely injured child,” Ed told Mustang. He felt a slight satisfaction at the uncomfortable squirm Mustang did as he was reminded of it as well. The BAU weren’t surprised by the news, having been told most of the truth behind his and Mustang’s first meeting, but that didn’t stop some of the agents from giving Mustang a judging look.

 

“Yes, well, is that the only reason?” Mustang asked, clearly uncomfortable with the looks.

 

“No, it isn’t,” Ed said before turning his mind back to the Lions. “What was the second memory?” He asked.

 

 _“Technically, it was the combination of some other memories that told us why this one stood out,”_ Green told him. _“We all saw moments you spent with Maes Hughes and his family. We felt how much you cherished that time with him, how much you admired and respected him, even though he annoyed you. We felt how much you loved him, like one should love their father or uncle.”_ Ed knew his face probably showed his sorrow so he schooled his expression as he listened to the Lions.

 

 _“I saw the two memories that were made significant by those moments,”_ Red told him. _“The first one I saw was Mustang telling you Hughes and his family had moved to the country. That was all I saw but I felt your confusion, hurt at not being told by Hughes himself and that small part of you that felt like you had been proven right about people abandoning you,”_ Red said and Ed could feel her slight wince at her blunt wording. _“The second memory I saw was the soldier, Maria Ross, telling you that Hughes hadn’t moved to the country but that he had been murdered. I felt the moment you realised Mustang had lied to you before it was overtaken by your grief,”_ Red’s voice went quiet and sad by the end of her statement.

 

 _“Our opinion of Mustang was affected by that because there was no good reason for him to lie to you about something as important as that, especially since the chances of you finding out the truth from someone else were so high,”_ Black explained softly. _“We thought he was being intentionally cruel or cowardly by not telling you himself and we couldn’t help but wonder what else he lied to you about if he could lie about something like that.”_ Ed nodded in understanding. He had thought the exact same thing for months after finding out about Hughes’ murder. He’d eventually exploded at Alphonse about something insignificant and his brother had realised that was his chance to figure out what had been plaguing Ed for those months. Edward wasn’t even sure if Mustang knew how much Ed had distrusted him in those months and the months after his talk with Al.

 

“The second reason was a combination of two memories,” Ed said, not meeting Mustang’s eye. “Your lie about Hughes and how we found out about his death.” You could’ve heard a pin drop in the room. “There’s a third memory so hold on a moment,” Ed told them before ignoring any comment they tried to make.

 

 _“We’re sorry about the tension this is causing you,”_ Blue said, sounding truly upset that this was causing some trouble between them.

 

“Don’t be. Mustang wanted to know,” Ed said telepathically and a little more harshly than was probably warranted. The Lions didn’t comment on it though and Yellow was the next to speak.

 

 _“Like it was for Red, this reason was formed because of a few snippets. I saw most of them but Green saw the rest and when we shared the memories, we realised how these memories connected,”_ Yellow started explaining. _“We saw your memories of being told Lieutenant Ross was the one who killed Maes Hughes and we felt your absolute shock and stubborn insistence it couldn’t have been her who did it. Then we saw some memories of you finding out Mustang was out looking for her when she escaped. We felt your determination to find her first, to protect her from Mustang’s anger. We saw him set her on fire in front of you. We know,”_ Yellow said sternly, cutting off Ed’s comment that it hadn’t actually been Maria, _“it wasn’t her but you didn’t know that at the time so for all intents and purposes, you just witnessed your boss murder one of your friends in front of your eyes.”_

 

 _“I then saw him punch you right after that. I felt your pain, both physical and emotional, as well as your sense of betrayal and your completely understandable hate and fear of Mustang,”_ Green cut in smoothly. Ed couldn’t even offer a token protest that he’d never been scared of Mustang because Green was right. Ed had been terrified of Mustang in that moment. He hadn’t admitted that to anyone, not even Al, nor had he told anyone about how he’d lost count of how many times he’d forced himself not to flinch any time Mustang moved near him. He felt the Lions understanding through the bond before Red spoke up.

 

 _“Like Yellow said, we know he never killed Maria Ross but it was the fact that he made you think he had taken her life – in front of you, no less – then punched you for being upset over it that made us angry at him,”_ Red explained, a slight growl in her voice. Ed knew he should’ve expected that memory to be one of the reasons as soon as the Lions revealed they’d seen snippets of his memory. They had proven to be very protective of him, almost as protective as they were of their own pilot, so it stood to reason that Mustang punching him would’ve been a big no for them.

 

Ed cleared his throat before he made sure he was speaking out loud and not telepathically still. “The third reason was because of your reaction to my reaction after you set the decoy on fire to help Miss Maria escape Central,” Ed told Mustang, making himself meet the older man’s eyes this time. “That’s it, I think,” Ed said before nodding his head. “Yeah, no, that’s all of their reasons for not having a good opinion of you to start with.” Ed wasn’t really sure what else to say after that so he said nothing.

 

“Edward-“ Mustang started saying but, surprisingly, Hawkeye cut him off.

 

“What reaction?” She asked, eyes narrowing as her gaze flicked between Edward and Mustang. Mustang sighed before leaning forward, giving Ed an apologetic look before facing his captain.

 

“When we’d orchestrated Lieutenant Maria Ross’ escape from Central prison, I volunteered to be one of the search-party. The late Fuhrer King Bradley allowed it, obviously hoping I’d do what everyone thought I had and kill her. I don’t know how much you guys know,” he looked at the BAU, “but she was accused of murdering my best friend, Maes Hughes. She was granted no trial and the military was rushing to get her in front of a firing squad. Working with numerous, trusted allies, I managed to come up with a plan to get her out of Central and ensure no one would know she was alive,” Mustang explained.

 

“You didn’t tell Ed or Al about this escape plan, did you?” Reid asked and Mustang nodded.

 

“No, we decided to only let people who were needed to help pull the plan off know. Edward and Alphonse weren’t aware of it,” Mustang confirmed. “The plan was for me to use my flame alchemy to destroy a dummy made of meat and shaped like a human by burning it to a crisp. The coroner is someone I trust completely and he was the one who performed the autopsy on the ‘corpse’, confirming it to be Lieutenant Maria Ross.” Mustang paused for a moment. “I never intended for Edward to be the witness but he was the first of the other search parties to find me. I couldn’t deviate from the plan and risk someone overhearing us arguing so I set the dummy on fire, burning it until it wasn’t recognisable.”

 

“And because Ed wasn’t warned beforehand, he thought it was really Maria Ross,” Hotch connected the dots quickly. Mustang and Ed both nodded.

 

“Yeah, I had no clue so I started yelling,” Ed told them. “Mustang lost his temper at me and punched me,” Ed shrugged his good shoulder, looking at the desk as he listened to the shocked gasps.

 

“What happened after that?” Hawkeye asked and Ed flashed a look at her, only to see her glaring at Mustang.

 

“Nothing. I went down but before I could retaliate, I heard Alphonse coming closer. Since I didn’t know it was fake, I took off to intercept him so he wouldn’t see what had happened,” Ed answered before Mustang could.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me about that, Brother?” Al asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“I was shipped off pretty quickly to Xerxes with Major Armstrong and I think I was still trying to process everything that had happened during that whole period. We did have a shit-ton of stuff thrown at us all at once. Getting punched didn’t seem like big of a deal. Especially since I never even bruised,” Ed told him, a spark of teasing in his eye. Al sighed at his brother’s attempt to lighten the mood.

 

“I sincerely hope that your actions were something caused solely by the heat of the moment and have never – and will never – be repeated against anyone in this room without just cause,” Hawkeye said, her voice dangerously close to a growl, “and that you apologised for actions the moment you could.” Mustang shifted a little guiltily and Hawkeye damn near snarled. “I suggest you do so, Sir. It’s never too late to apologise, after all,” Hawkeye told him snappishly.

 

The BAU were watching this unfold with no small amount of amusement. They were used to Ed and Mustang being at each other’s throats or swapping barbed comments every other sentence but they had yet to witness Mustang almost cowering in fear like he was right now.

 

“Miss Riza, it was ages ago. I don’t care so can’t we just forget about it?” Ed asked, cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment as he tried to get them to a different topic so they could forget about this quickly.

 

“No, Edward. You did nothing to deserve that hit and we all know it. General Mustang should have apologised the first moment he could’ve and he didn’t. That is not behaviour this team would expect from him,” Hawkeye said firmly, though she did look slightly apologetic on Ed’s behalf that she wasn’t letting this go.

 

“Captain Hawkeye is correct,” Mustang said, looking directly at Ed.

 

“She always is,” Ed retorted out of habit. There were several hums of agreement around the table, including one from Alphonse.

 

“I owe you an apology for both lying to you about Hughes’ death and for punching you. I shouldn’t have done either and I should have apologised a lot sooner than now. It shouldn’t have taken this long and a reminder from the Lions that I needed too,” Mustang said sincerely. “I owe you an apology for lying about Hughes as well, Alphonse, and I hope the both of you can forgive me for my transgressions.” Ed huffed out a sigh of irritation that had Al rolling his eyes.

 

“Thank you, General Mustang. I forgave you a long time ago for lying to us,” Alphonse told him with a genuine smile.

 

“What he said,” Ed jabbed a thumb at his brother, “just with the whole punching thing added in. Pretty sure I got you back ten-fold for that anyways,” Ed told him, tapping the right side of his jaw, indicating Mustang’s own bruised jaw.

 

“Yes, I certainly think you did though, unlike when I hit you, this punch was completely deserved,” Mustang said, wincing in memory of why exactly it was well deserved. Hawkeye hummed in agreement at that, surprising a lot of the others.

 

“Now that we know why the Lions didn’t like Mustang to start with, how about we find out what happened to have them ready to ask Edward to mute his bond with them?” Reid asked eagerly and Ed could’ve kissed the man for changing the subject.

 

“Wait,” JJ said before Ed or anyone could say anything. “When did the Lions start liking Mustang?” She asked curiously.

 

“Ah, Black says for her it was after Mustang apologised for being an arse before our sparring session,” Ed told her. “Blue, Red and Green said that their opinion started changing during training sessions and just being around Mustang and seeing he wasn’t quite like they first thought. Yellow likes him the most because he made sure Hunk was alright after our fight against Zarkon and Haggar.” JJ nodded thoughtfully.

 

“So, do they like him now?” She asked and Ed prodded the Lions for an answer.

 

“They’re pretty neutral about him,” Ed told them, grinning at Mustang’s pout. “They neither like nor dislike him at the moment but they don’t dislike him enough to be happy about him being falsely imprisoned,” Ed told them, repeating what Black was saying in his mind. JJ seemed satisfied now.

 

“Okay, so, why did the Lions readily accept you muting the bond? It must’ve been something extremely important since the lot of you were practically inseparable on the Castle-Ship and speak to each other pretty much every waking hour,” Mustang asked, forcing the subject change and leaning back in his chair.

 

“You guys ready to share?” Ed asked telepathically and felt each Lion growl affirmatively. “Alright. So the first thing you should remember is that the day we left, the Alteans and Paladins were trying to map a route that would allow them to return all of the aliens who had been held prisoner by the Galra and Haggar to their home planets without too many trips doubling back.” Everyone nodded and Ed continued.

 

“Two of their days before I found you guys in Resembool, Allura and Coran discovered that there was a cluster of planets nearby that were all still under the Galra’s control. Despite none of the freed prisoners claiming any of the nine planets in the cluster as their home, Allura and the Paladins decided they couldn’t risk leaving the planets only to return once all the liberated prisoners had been dropped home and finding the cluster destroyed or uninhabitable,” Ed explained.

 

“Understandable. A lot can happen in a small amount of time on a battlefield and if your goal is to save as many as you can, you sometimes have to chose between whether you save the ones you’ve got or risk them to save the others and possibly lose them all,” Rossi told them and Ed nodded.

 

“Exactly. Shiro made the argument that the Castle-Ship is well-protected so the current ex-prisoners on board shouldn’t be put in too much danger. Keith had added to the argument that the Galrans were currently drifting as they try and elect a new leader to replace Zarkon so they wouldn’t be as organised as they could be,” Ed went on saying. “It took them the two days to come to an agreement with the other prisoners and come up with a battle plan. The Lions were planning on asking me if they could mute the bond a few hours before they were due to attack but I was on the train and asking them before they could,” Ed said.

 

“What were they facing?” Mustang asked and Ed held up a finger as he listened to the Lions.

 

 _“There were nine planets in total and each planet had been taken. The inhabitants of each planet weren’t able to escape before the Galran arrived. Each planet had four large ships circling them, with hundreds of fighter ships assigned to a planet. There were three mother ships in total and Haggar had gifted two of the more difficult planets a Robeast each,”_ Black reported dutifully and Edward repeated her words verbatim.

 

“’Robeast’?” Prentiss asked and Ed nodded.

 

“From what I remember Lance, Pidge and Hunk telling me, they’re robots designed by the dead witch, Haggar, with the sole purpose of either conquering a planet or trying to destroy Voltron. They’re nasty things and Haggar apparently learned from each beast Voltron managed to destroy, making the next one that much more difficult,” Ed tried to explain but he knew he probably wasn’t doing it justice. He wished the Paladins had thought to put video of one on his tablet so he could see it for himself.

 

“Oh, so they’re like the final boss on a level in a video game? And with each level you successfully pass, the more difficult the final boss is?” Morgan asked.

 

“I don’t know what a video game is but that sounds kinda similar,” Ed said, flinching as Green butted their bond for his attention. “Ouch! What, Green?” Ed asked, feeling the headache disappear immediately.

 

 _“Sorry, Ed, I didn’t mean to be so enthusiastic,”_ Green said sheepishly. _“Pidge wanted me to tell you that your friend is correct,”_ she told him and Ed thanked her.

 

“Green says that Pidge said you’re right,” Ed told Morgan, who grinned smugly.

 

“Of course I am,” Morgan grinned before yelping when Prentiss hit him.

 

“Don’t let it get to your head,” she teased as Morgan exaggeratingly rubbed his bicep where Prentiss had hit him.

 

“How’d they manage to win?” Havoc asked, bringing the topic back to Voltron and its fight.

 

“Right, so they decided to merge together to create Voltron and wipe out the three mother ships and as many of the other ships as they could. Pidge managed to expand Green’s cloaking to cover all of them so they were able to get as close as possible without any of the Galran spotting them. When they were in position, Pidge dropped the cloak and they managed to destroy one mother ship without too much hassle. Of course, they couldn’t destroy the ship without creating noise so they soon found themselves fighting hundreds of single fighter pods and some of the bigger ships,” Ed continued the story for them. “It took them a few hours but they managed to complete the first part of their plan and destroy the two remaining mother ships before retreating to the Castle-ship for repairs and to recover,” Ed told them.

 

“Were they alright?” JJ asked and Ed nodded.

 

“The Lions are hard to damage and it’s apparently even harder for the pilots to get badly hurt inside the cockpit. They suffered minor bruising and a couple of cuts and the Lions copped a few good hits but they managed to patch them up within a few hours of them getting back to the Castle-ship,” Ed assured her. “The next part of their plan was for Pidge and Coran to hack the Galra and send them a message telling them that if they surrendered peacefully and handed control of the captured planets back to their inhabitants, Voltron would let them leave. The Galran refused so they had to resort to their original plan. The Paladins rested for the remainder of the day and the night to get their strength back before they put their plan into action the next morning.” Ed took a breath before continuing.

 

“The plan was for the five of them to go out together in the morning but not joined up into Voltron. They would take down the remaining large ships, merging into Voltron if needed, before retreating back to the ship. That took them all day to do but they destroyed the remaining ships that had survived the attack on the mother ships. They went back to the Castle-ship, recovered and went back out again the next morning after Coran and Pidge’s offer to let them surrender oncer more was ignored,” Ed told them. “They split up, one two-Lion team and one three-Lion team, with the Castle-ship acting as back up. The two-Lion team chose a planet to start trying to free while the other team did the same for another planet. None of these planets were very large ones so it didn’t take the two teams long to finish with the two planets they chose, though Black does want me to tell you that’s also because the natives of each planet helped from the ground and once the tide turned in favour of Voltron, the natives basically took over freeing their home,” Ed grinned at Black’s insisting behaviour.

 

“It’s good the planet’s inhabitants were in good enough health to be able to help though. I bet that was a relief for the Paladins to find out,” Fuery said and Ed nodded.

 

“Yeah, they were pretty surprised to see them, according to the Lions. They didn’t know how long the planets had been under the Galrans control, after all, so I think most of them were expecting the worst-case scenario,” Ed admitted. “But anyway, once the two planets were back in the natives hands, the Paladins moved on to the next two planets. The same thing happened for each new planet; the Paladins would move in, the natives would join in on the fight then the Paladins would move on when the natives had the fight well in hand. They managed to free four planets on during their first shift of fighting before Allura and Coran ordered them back to the ship to get food and rest.”

 

“You know, I still find it extremely hard to believe that you seriously went to space and fought alongside aliens and sentient Lion space-ships that you are still bonded to and can talk telepathically with,” Morgan commented, causing the Amestrians to chuckle.

 

“It takes some time to get used to,” Falman told him with a slight grin of amusement.

 

“I don’t envy you guys trying to convince Miss Penelope about me and Mustang going to space,” Ed grinned when Morgan groaned theatrically. “Anyway! Voltron managed to liberate seven of the nine planets with no problems. It took them another three days to do so and they destroyed hundreds, if not thousands, of Galran fighters in doing so. Pidge and Coran made the offer for them to surrender each morning but it was always ignored. On the fifth day of their assault – I think that was the same day we spent searching for Miss Riza – they ran into real trouble,” Ed revealed.

 

“The Robeast?” Reid asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Yup. The two-Lion team was the first to face theirs but it became immediately apparent they couldn’t defeat it by themselves so they had to form Voltron to destroy it. Except, when they sent the call out to the other three members of the team, they found out they were facing their own Robeast,” Ed told them. “Red and Yellow were the two-Lion team so Hunk called for the Castle-ship to act as their back-up, to try and better their chances. But even with the Castle-ship there with them, they couldn’t take the Robeast down by themselves and they could hear through their comms that Blue, Green and Black were having their own problems taking their Robeast down. Keith and Hunk were finally able to escape their Robeast, thanks to what I’m told was some pretty nifty shooting from the Castle-ship and they made the decision to abandon the planet to aid Shiro, Lance and Pidge in taking their Robeast down. Their plan was to come back to the last planet and form Voltron to take that Robeast down afterwards,” Ed explained, worried for a moment the others would think they’d abandon the plant permanently.

 

“Turns out Keith and Hunk were just in time to save Blue and Lance from what would’ve been a fatal hit,” Ed told them. “The second Robeast had managed to swat Blue out of the air and slam her into the ground. When that happened, it affected her systems and made her sluggish to respond, basically similar to someone with a concussion,” Ed explained so his team would understand. “The Robeast had an ability to turn its appendages into something similar to steel and made to stab Blue while its other appendages kept Shiro and Pidge unable to help. I was told that where the Robeast was aiming, Lance would’ve been in the path and it’s likely Blue’s array that makes her who she is would’ve been destroyed. But Keith and Hunk appeared in the nick of time and managed to deflect the blow so it impaled the ground next to Blue, giving Lance and Blue enough time to recover and get back into the air.” Ed heard the numerous sighs of relief from everyone around the table and a glance at Mustang showed him a relieved expression.

 

“Can you let Blue know I’m glad to hear that she and Lance are alright and to pass the message along to him, please?” Mustang asked and Ed nodded.

 

“She heard you and says she will,” Ed dutifully passed Blue’s reply along. “But back to the story,” Ed said. “Lance and Blue rejoined the fight and the team were able to destroy the Robeast and give the planet back to its occupants before the Lions returned to the Castle-ship. Blue had suffered extensive damage and Lance was ordered into a healing pod so he would be able to join the fight to liberate the final planet the next day. Pidge, Hunk and Coran worked to get Blue back up and running at peak efficiency so she would be able to join them as well.”

 

“After resting for the night and half the next day, since Lance hadn’t been released from the pod until the next morning and apparently going into a healing pod makes you sleepy,” Ed heard Blue’s chuckle and just knew Lance was protesting Ed’s teasing tone, “Voltron headed to free the final planet. The final Robeast had the help of the remaining Galran fighter ships so they had a full battle on their hands. Allura ordered Voltron to focus on the Robeast while she and Coran used the Castle-ship to take care of the couple hundred remaining Galran fighters. The battle took them the rest of the day but they managed to destroy the Robeast and the remaining fighters and completely liberate the entire cluster of planets without any more major injuries to either Paladin or Lion,” Ed grinned before scowling slightly. “Of course, minutes after they were told they’d completed the mission, the Lions re-established our bond and almost gave me a migraine.” Everyone knew his irritated tone was aimed for the Lions and not them and they assumed, from the way Ed’s features softened a little, the Lions were apologising once more.

 

“You know, I don’t think I’ll ever complain about my job again,” Havoc said, grinning widely as everyone else laughed in agreement.

 

“I’ll remember that,” Hawkeye said sternly, though Ed swore he saw a flash of teasing in her eyes. Havoc looked like he wanted to take his words back and Ed wondered if he’d imagined the slight whimper that came from the blonde man.

 

“I’m glad that everyone came out of the mission without any lasting injuries. I assume they’ve resumed their mission to help the former prisoners return home?” Mustang asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Yeah, they hung around the cluster of planets for a day or so to give the Castle-ship and her occupants time to recover and to make sure the planets were completely Galra-free,” Ed told him. “They’re currently on their way to the planet they had been heading for when they came across those nine,” Ed said and Mustang nodded. No one else got the opportunity to comment on anything because there was a knock at the door.

 

“Enter,” Mustang called. Ed had to supress the urge to so the same. Apparently, he’d managed to form the habit to call for people to enter after only a few days.

 

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Grumman greeted as he and two soldiers entered the office. Every member of Mustang’s team, including Mustang himself were on their feet and saluting immediately. “There’s no need for that. This is a friendly visit, after all,” Grumman said lightly, waving their salutes away and sending the two soldiers who accompanied him to wait outside the closed door. “Firstly, I must apologise to you, Edward, and to Riza and Alphonse, as well,” Grumman said, surprising everyone in the room, including Ed, Al and Hawkeye.

 

“Why?” Ed asked, looking at Hawkeye and Alphonse to see if they had any idea why Grumman would need to apologise to them specifically. Neither of them looked like they had a clue.

 

“I never asked any of you how you were healing during your previous visits to my office today,” Grumman said and there was a sense of relief in the room that it wasn’t anything bad. “I’m sorry for that. How are the three of you?” Grumman asked.

 

“Oh, well, it’s fine, Grumman, but I’m doing good. Haven’t ripped any stitches yet, which might be a record for me,” Ed said, a little awkwardly to start with but he was smirking by the end what he was saying. Al rolled his eyes.

 

“He’s not even joking or wrong,” Al sighed, causing the others to laugh and Grumman to smile in amusement, “but I’m doing well. Thank you for asking, Sir,” Al said, giving Grumman a smile.

 

“As am I, grandfather,” Hawkeye told him, not using his formal title since he hadn’t used hers.

 

“I’m very pleased to hear that,” Grumman said, giving the three of them genuine smiles before looking at the rest of the group. “The reason I am here today, however, is not solely to check on Edward, Alphonse and Riza but to extend my deepest gratitude to the six of you,” Grumman said, nodding to the BAU. “I understand that you felt a sense of obligation to help Edward and the team to uncover the truth behind the crimes General Mustang was framed for but I still wish to thank you for helping them. Your expertise was invaluable to this investigation and while I have no doubts that under Edward’s lead, this team would have eventually uncovered Belmont’s identity, they likely wouldn’t have been able to do so in the same time frame. In fact, I have found out from the soldiers in charge of Belmont’s interrogation that she only attacked Alphonse and Riza when she did because she felt pressured by the six of you and how much you had already uncovered,” Grumman revealed.

 

“Has Belmont been released from hospital?” Ed asked, wondering why he hadn’t heard about it if she had been.

 

“No, she’ll be required to stay in hospital until her stitches are removed to minimise her chances of ripping them however, she is no longer being sedated so she is able to be interrogated now. The soldiers in charge of her interrogation have been chosen by Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes and he has been in the room with them for each interview,” Grumman assured them, having noticed their worries looks. The relief was palpable in the room at the mention of Brookes.

 

“That’s good to hear,” Mustang said and Grumman nodded.

 

“I thought it would be,” he said before turning back to the BAU. “As a token of my appreciation, I have something for all of you, and your missing team member,” Grumman said, reaching into his inner jacket pocket and pulling out several sheets of papers. He handed one to each BAU member, giving the seventh piece of paper to Hotch.

 

“What are those, Fuhrer Grumman?” Alphonse asked, leaning over Ed, trying to look at Morgan’s piece of paper.

 

“Those are official documents containing my signature and seal granting the person named on the document permission to be in Amestris. General Mustang and Edward will be adding their own signatures and seals to the document as well, in case the next time you pay us a visit I’m no longer Fuhrer. I imagine General Mustang will still be in the military and perhaps even Edward, if he decides to renew his contract with us,” Grumman said, giving Ed a pointed look.

 

“I haven’t decided yet,” Ed said, sinking a little in his seat. “It depends on some stuff,” he admitted.

 

“Well, I’ll be happy to talk with you about any concerns or conditions you might have, Edward. You’re truly an asset to the military and we would suffer a massive loss if you did decide to discharge from us,” Grumman said and Ed nodded in acknowledgement. “As I said, those documents prove that you are legally allowed in Amestris so you shouldn’t be detained like you were when you arrived this time. I’ve included one for Miss Penelope Garcia, just in case she winds up here as well next time. There are conditions for those, though,” Grumman warned them.

 

“The soldier who first demands you to show them your papers is required to call either the Fuhrer’s office or Edward or Mustang and you will have to wait to be escorted by one of them or a member of the team. You will still be permitted to carry your weapons, should you arrive armed, but they will need to be logged with the military and a fired round given to ballistics so they have one on hand for comparison should you end up using your weapons. You will also only be granted the same kind of jurisdiction you were on this case, if you do end up working on a case here,” Grumman explained. The BAU all read over their papers, making sure they understood everything written on them.

 

“This is an extremely generous gift, Fuhrer Grumman. On behalf of my team, I would like to thank you for it,” Hotch said, standing up and offering his hand to Grumman.

 

“The only person who should be thanking anyone is me, Agent Hotchner. This document doesn’t seem like enough of a reward for everything you managed to do for us this week but it was the only thing I felt would be appreciated above all others. Please accept it with my deepest thanks,” Grumman said, shaking Hotch’s hand.

 

“We accept it, Fuhrer Grumman, but while it is appreciated, your thanks are not necessary. We were only doing our job and we would’ve done so for any of our friends,” Hotch told him before gesturing his team to join them.

 

“Thank you, Fuhrer Grumman,” Rossi said, shaking Grumman’s hand, having gotten what Hotch was silently asking them to do. The rest of the BAU agents followed suit before retaking their seats so they weren’t crowding Grumman.

 

“You’re most welcome. I have to take my leave now but I hope we meet again soon. Although, I sincerely hope the next time isn’t because of something like this,” Grumman said, half-joking.

 

“Yes, we hope so as well,” Hotch agreed, eyes twinkling with amusement.

 

“Have a safe trip to Resembool tomorrow and I will see four of you in three days’ time,” Grumman said, looking pointedly at Ed, Al, Mustang and Hawkeye.

 

“Of course, Fuhrer Grumman. Have a good day, Sir,” Mustang said, saluting Grumman once he stood up. The rest of the Amestrians were quick to follow suit but Grumman waved them out of it almost as soon as they’d stood.

 

“Enjoy the rest of you afternoon, everyone,” Grumman said before giving everyone a wave goodbye and leaving the office, closing the door behind him.

 

“Since when do I have a seal?” Ed asked as soon as Grumman shut the door.

 

“You don’t. Technically speaking, you wouldn’t design one until you were granted the rank of brigadier-general. The only other reason you would have a seal is if you belonged to an extremely well-known and influential family, like the Armstrongs,” Hawkeye told him, which just made Ed a little more confused.

 

“So, do I have to make one up now or did he just mean that Mustang had to put his seal and signature on the papers, while I just sign them?” Ed asked and Hawkeye shrugged a shoulder.

 

“I’m unsure, Edward,” she said before getting an idea. “Doctor Reid, would I be able to see your papers please?” Hawkeye asked, turning to the young agent.

 

“Yeah, no worries,” Reid said, handing the papers over so Hawkeye could look them over.

 

“No, there is no where for you to put a seal and Fuhrer Grumman has made sure to put your ranks in front of your names so you wouldn’t have been expected to put one down anyway,” Hawkeye told him and Ed sighed in relief.

 

“If you hand over all of your papers, Fullmetal and I will head into my office to sign and seal them while Captain Hawkeye makes the phone calls she needs too,” Mustang suggested. In the small hubbub created from everyone passing their papers to Mustang, Ed and Al shared a look that no one else noticed. Ed could feel Red nearly vibrating with excitement to see Mustang’s reaction to what the boys had done to his office. “Let’s go, Fullmetal,” Mustang said once he got the last paper. Ed rolled his eyes but he did get to his feet and follow Mustang into his inner office, giving Al a grin as he did so. Hawkeye pretended not to notice, grabbing her phone and dialling the first number she needed.

 

Mustang went straight for his desk and Ed followed, leaving the door open so Al could hear Mustang’s reaction. Both boys and the Lions were disappointed when Mustang didn’t notice anything amiss, merely picking up his pen and adding his signature and seal to each piece of paper. Ed grabbed the pen off of Mustang when it was offered to him and added his own messy signature next to his name.

 

“Excellent. Let’s head back out to the others now,” Mustang said, accepting his pen back and leaving it on his desk.

 

 _“I swear, I’ll end him if he doesn’t figure out what you and Al did while you aren’t there to witness it,”_ Red growled in Ed’s mind as he followed Mustang out.

 

“You’ll have to beat me to it,” Ed muttered back, sharing a disappointed look with Al as he sat in between Al and Morgan once more. Hawkeye was still on the phone while Mustang handed everyone their papers back. No one risked Hawkeye’s wrath by talking while she was on the phone so they sat in silence.

 

“Alright, we’ll see you shortly,” Hawkeye finally said before hanging up the phone. “Our tickets are booked and we have two private compartments reserved for our use tomorrow. I took the liberty of booking the return tickets and a single compartment for our return, including tickets for Gracia and Elysia,” Hawkeye told Mustang.

 

“Excellent thinking, Captain Hawkeye,” Mustang said. “I assume the second phone call was to Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes?” Mustang asked and she nodded.

 

“Yes, Sir. Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes and Sheska will join us in half an hour to discuss restaurant options,” she informed him and Mustang bit back a sigh of annoyance and resignation. He knew why he’d been put forward as the bill-payer for tonight. It was rather obvious that Edward and his team had been the ones to pick up the bills for the BAU throughout the whole week so it was obviously his turn now but that didn’t mean he enjoyed having it sprung on him like it was. “This is for you, Sir,” Hawkeye said, grabbing Mustang’s attention once more and he found himself accepting a receipt.

 

“What’s this?” He asked, giving it a look over.

 

“When the generals and their teams executed the search warrant on your home, Sir, I paid for some groceries to cover the ones they ruined. That is the receipt for them. You may pay me back as your leisure, Sir,” Hawkeye told him and Mustang nodded.

 

“Thank you, Captain,” he said, pocketing the receipt before something occurred to him. “Wait, does this mean you cleaned up the whole house?” Mustang asked a little hopefully. He hadn’t been looking forward to doing that himself when he got home.  


“Yup, we all pitched in,” Ed informed him but Mustang wasn’t liking that spark of mischief in his golden eyes. “Everyone decided to take a room each but some of us teamed up in the end. For example, I cleared your study but Miss Riza joined me when she was finished in the guest room.  Made the clean-up go much quicker,” Ed said and Mustang cleared his throat nervously.

 

“The guest room, you say?” Ed nodded in confirmation and Al hit him, carefully, in the gut to stop his smug grin. “I suppose I should apologise?” Mustang offered, looking pleadingly at Hawkeye.

 

“Not necessary, Sir. I’d noticed those papers didn’t arrive at the office with us after the transfer so I had copies sent from East City. You completed them so you may as well dispose of the ones you hid in the guest room,” Hawkeye informed him. “I imagine I don’t have to tell you not to try something like that again,” she said and Mustang shook his head excessively in agreement.

 

“Of course not,” he assured her.

 

“Damn, Mustang, you really were desperate to get out of doing paperwork,” Morgan laughed while Al teased Ed about his disappointed pout that Mustang didn’t get shot.

 

 _“I’m disappointed as well,”_ Red purred comfortingly in Ed’s mind and he silently thanked her for her support as the others laughed at Mustang’s stammered denial. Hawkeye silenced him with a glare, causing everyone to laugh again. Ed grinned at the amusement he saw in the room and felt from the Lions in his mind as he leaned back in his chair, eventually joining in on the chatter as they waited for Brookes and Sheska to join them. For the first time since before General Andrews death, Ed felt like nothing bad was about to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are love and I am in need of it so please leave them for me! See you next week!


	28. Chapter 28

“Hey, bossman! Chief!” A familiar voice calling for Ed and Mustang had the group of four waiting at the train station turning to look in its direction only to greeted with the sight of Havoc waving cheerfully at them. Behind him were the other men of Mustang’s team and the BAU agents, who were now carrying backpacks or dufflebags filled with things they’d bought in Central and the clothing they’d arrived in. The plan was for the BAU to go to sleep wearing their original clothing since Ed assumed Truth was likely to take them back when all of them were asleep and they could answer questions about why their clothing looked slept in easier than they could about why their clothing looked so old.

 

“Lieutenant Havoc, what a surprise. I was only expecting Warrant Officer Fuery to be escorting the team of consultants,” Mustang said as the second group approached.

 

“Ah, well, we decided to help him out and see you guys off,” Havoc told him, unperturbed by the unimpressed look Mustang was giving him.

 

“I sincerely hope this little gathering won’t affect you completing your work on time,” Hawkeye said, eyes narrowing.

 

“Of course not, Captain Hawkeye. We’ll still get everything done before we head home for the night,” Havoc assured her, eyes flicking between hers and her still holstered weapon.

 

“I certainly hope so,” Hawkeye said warningly.

 

“We’ve got ten minutes until we’re due to board the train,” Ed told them. “Wanna get coffees?” He asked, nodding towards the café that was only a few metres away from them.

 

“Could we get that many coffees before we have to board the train though?” Reid asked, mentally counting how many there were.

 

“Yeah, it shouldn’t be an issue. The train normally runs late anyways,” Ed told them with a shrug. Reid didn’t seem overly convinced but the rest of the agents overruled him so Havoc, Fuery and Ed headed into the café to place the orders they took from everyone.

 

It ended up taking the barista fifteen minutes to finish their order but Ed wasn’t surprised. They managed to get back out to the others shortly after the barista finished putting the coffee in some carry trays and hand them out to everyone with minimal fuss. Only a few moments after Fuery dumped the coffee trays did the call go out across the station, announcing that the train bound for Resembool was now ready for boarding.

 

“Well, it was certainly a pleasure being able to meet some of the people who helped Edward and Mustang out,” Falman said, offering his hand to the agents.

 

“I thought we said our goodbyes last night after the dinner,” Morgan joked, grasping Falman’s hand anyway.

 

“I know we did,” Falman said as he shook the other’s hands.

 

“Thank you for your help getting General Mustang’s name cleared,” Fuery said as he started shaking the BAU agents’ hands.

 

“Yeah, what they said,” Breda added as he did the same as his co-workers.

 

“Hopefully, Fuhrer Grumman’s right and the next time we see you it’ll be for a social visit,” Havoc grinned.

 

“Oh, yes, I’m sure Truth will kidnap us next time just so we can pop in and say hello,” Rossi joked as he shook Havoc’s hand.

 

“Yeah, it’s _great_ like that,” Ed said, voice dripping in sarcasm, causing everyone to laugh.

 

“We need to board the train if we want to arrive in Resembool today,” Hawkeye said as the conductor blew the train whistle, signalling the final boarding call.

 

“We should be heading back to the office,” Havoc said. “Have a safe trip, guys, and we’ll see you four when you arrive back in Central.” Mustang nodded.

 

“Fullmetal will pass along our expected time of arrival to Major Armstrong, like he promised Lieutenant-General Armstrong. I’ll have him ask the major to inform you of our arrival time as well so you can organise for a car to meet us,” Mustang said. Ed rolled his eyes at the fact that he was being talked about like he wasn’t there.

 

“Sure thing, bossman,” Havoc said, snapping a salute. The three other members of Mustang’s team did the same thing before Mustang dismissed them.

 

“See you later, guys,” Ed said as Hawkeye and Alphonse started leading the BAU agents to the train.

 

“Try not to kill Mustang while you’re in Resembool, chief. Would hate for all our hard work getting him outta jail to be wasted,” Havoc smirked as Ed let out a bark of laughter while Mustang looked offended.

 

“No promises,” Ed chuckled, waving goodbye before pushing Mustang towards the train. “Come on or they’ll leave us behind,” Ed said when Mustang protested the treatment.

 

“That doesn’t mean you can manhandle me, Fullmetal,” Mustang said, stepping out of arms reach of Ed.

 

“Wouldn’t have to if you got moving by yourself,” Ed retorted.

 

“Hurry up, Brother!” Al called from where he stood inside the train car’s door, hanging out and waving at them.

 

Mustang and Ed did as Al said and soon, they were heading for the private compartment Hawkeye was waiting outside of. Ed sat in the compartment with Al, Mustang and Hawkeye as they waited for the train to depart Central. Once it had picked up sufficient speed, Ed went to leave the three of them to join the BAU in their compartment but Mustang stopped him for a moment.

 

“What, are we not good enough company for you?” Mustang joked and Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“Miss Riza and Al certainly are but you? Depends on the day,” Ed teased. “’sides, I got something I need to talk to the BAU about anyways,” Ed said, glancing at Al.

 

“Want me to come with, Brother?” Al asked chirpily, like he didn’t know what Ed planned to be talking to the BAU about.

 

“Nah, I think I can handle it, Al,” Ed told him and Al heard what he was actually saying; that this was something he needed to do by himself. Al nodded and didn’t look surprised by his response but he still looked a little upset that Ed didn’t want him there.

 

“What do you need to talk with the BAU about?” Mustang asked and Ed tsked at him.

 

“None ya,” Ed said before disappearing out of the compartment so Mustang or Hawkeye couldn’t question him further. He swore he heard Mustang mutter something unflattering as he closed the door but he didn’t rise to the bait and turn around to find out exactly what he said.

 

The compartment the BAU were in was right across from theirs so it wasn’t like it was a big trip to find it but Ed still found himself walking away from it, heading for a section of the train car that didn’t have anyone in the seats and sitting.

 

 _“What’s wrong, cub?”_ Blue asked before any of the others and Ed became aware of their worry, not having realised he’d unconsciously ignored them as he walked away from the compartments.

 

“I’m going to tell the agents who don’t already know what Al and I really did the night I lost my limbs,” Ed told the Lions, making sure it was through the bond and not out loud.

 

 _“That’s good, Ed,”_ Green said encouragingly. There was no surprise from the Lions but Ed knew there wouldn’t be since he did tell them he was considering this. _“But why are you by yourself now?”_

 

“Because I’m having second thoughts about telling them,” Ed admitted, scrubbing his automail hand over his face and wincing when he accidentally pulled at the bandage around his neck.

 

 _“That’s understandable, young one. This isn’t something you would tell just anyone and how many people have you voluntarily told about it before now, anyway?”_ Black asked, purring comfortingly through the bond.

 

“I told Mustang’s team about what we did. I told you guys and Shiro and I’ve told Reid, the Armstrong siblings and Miss Gracia. Everyone else who knows either figured it out for themselves, like Father Cornello and Mustang, or who witnessed the immediate aftermath, like Winry and Granny,” Ed told her.

 

 _“I imagine you told Mustang’s team years after knowing them and only because they needed to be told, though,”_ Yellow said and Ed knew that the Lions knew full well that that was true since they had access to his memories and had likely seen the memory of Ed telling them after the first fight with Scar.

 

“Yeah, I did,” Ed confirmed.

 

 _“And you’ve only spent – what? – three weeks total with the BAU agents?”_ Red asked and Ed hummed affirmatively through the bond. _“It took you years and almost daily contact with Mustang’s team and the push from a serial killer to admit what really happened that night. Frankly, I’m surprised you’re even considering telling the BAU agents. Hell, I was shocked to learn you told Reid at all,”_ Red told him honestly. Ed wasn’t really surprised with that revelation since he himself was still in disbelief that he was considering it.

 

 _“We won’t tell you whether you should tell them or not because it isn’t our place to do so but we will stand behind whichever decision you do make,”_ Yellow purred softly and Ed felt his heart warm at their promise.

 

“I am going to tell them,” Ed insisted, “but I just need to work up the courage to do so,” he admitted, hating himself slightly for it.

 

 _“Don’t beat yourself up because you couldn’t tell them immediately,”_ Black chided slightly. _“This isn’t exactly something you talk about every day. Of course, it’s going to take you some time to be able to work up the nerve. Just take your time, cub,”_ Black said soothingly.

 

 _“The world isn’t going to end if you don’t tell them immediately so do as Black says and take some time to get yourself mentally ready for what you’re going to do,”_ Blue told him gently and Ed sighed before leaning back against the train bench.

  
“Yeah, I think I will,” Ed said, leaning his head against the cool pane of glass and watched the scenery blur pass. “Why don’t you tell me about what you and the Paladins have been doing since I last asked? Has Lance kicked Keith’s arse in training yet?” His question had the desired effect and caused Blue and Red to immediately try and talk over each other to regale Ed with stories of their Paladin while Black tried to get them to settle down. Green and Yellow decided to play devil’s advocate and chime in with a comment aimed to provoke either Blue or Red. Ed smiled softly as he listened to their voices while he focused on his nerves and what he was going to do. 

* * *

 

Ed was a little surprised that it only took a few minutes of the Lions chattering to him and each other for him to feel his resolve to talk with the BAU harden to the point where he could get up from the train bench and join them in their compartment. He didn’t do so immediately though, as he wanted to listen to the end of Green’s tale about Pidge’s latest creation she made with her brother and dad.

 

 _“They’re hoping it could revolutionise the technology on their home planet and make it far more advanced while not hurting the environment. It’s actually based off her design for your tablet, Ed,”_ Green told him and Ed let himself grin. He remembered Pidge’s comment when she handed him his tablet after she got it to run on alchemic energy – or quintessence as they all called it – about seeing if she could apply the technology to other things.

 

“That’s really amazing. Tell her I want to hear everything about it when she has some time to sit down with you and tell you all the details so you can tell me about it,” Ed asked.

 

 _“She’s in the middle of another inventing binge with her father so it might not be for a while but I know she’d love to tell you all about it,”_ Green said, voice obviously proud as she thought about her pilot’s achievements.

 

 _“You’re going to go talk to them now, aren’t you?”_ Yellow asked and Ed hummed affirmatively.

 

“Yeah, I think I am,” Ed said as he moved his gaze from the scenery outside to the compartment door he knew the BAU were sitting behind.

 

 _“We’ll be with you the whole way, Ed,”_ Blue promised and Ed felt himself relax a little with that.

 

“Thanks, guys,” Ed said sincerely and gratefully. He allowed himself to stay sitting for a few more seconds before he took a deep breath and got to his feet, moving with purpose.

 

As he walked towards the compartment door, he felt the Lions sending him waves of comfort and encouragement through the bond. He took his time walking to the compartment, not wanting the other passengers to question his rush since he’d likely been recognised thanks to his red jacket and golden hair. If civilians saw him in a rush, they might think the train was being hi-jacked with him on board again and panic and Ed didn’t want that. He felt the Lions curiousity about how many times a train he’s been on has been hi-jacked but Ed ignored them. He knocked on the compartment door lightly but opened it before anyone inside could say anything.

 

“Hey, Ed. What brings you by our little compartment?” Morgan asked as soon as he recognised who it was.

 

“Not much. It was getting boring over there,” Ed grinned, sitting in between Morgan and Reid when they made room for him. There really wasn’t enough room for seven people in the compartment but they made do. “Actually, there is something I need to tell you guys, especially if this is the last time we ever see each other. Unless Truth decides to be a dick again which honestly wouldn’t surprise me,” Ed joked weakly.

 

“Are you going to tell them what you told me in Hawkeye’s apartment?” Reid asked and Ed nodded. “I can tell them for you when we get home, if you don’t want to tell them yourself. They’d understand,” Reid said. Ed gave him a small smile but shook his head.

 

“Thanks, Reid, but I couldn’t ask you to do that. It’s my secret to share and I wouldn’t ask anyone to share it with other people just because I couldn’t do it myself,” Ed told him.

 

“What does Reid know that we don’t?” Morgan asked, a little upset that Ed had shared something apparently big with Reid and not him.

 

“A lot, I imagine. He is pretty smart,” Ed retorted on reflex but it helped ease the tension he was feeling. Prentiss, Reid and JJ laughed at Morgan while he tried to defend himself. Hotch and Rossi merely looked amused.

 

 _“You can do this but only if you want to, cub,”_ Black purred in his mind and Ed sent a wave of gratitude through the bond. He felt the other Lions rally behind him and he took a deep breath.

 

“I honestly hadn’t planned on telling you guys any of this, not because I don’t trust you because I do trust you as much as I trust Miss Riza and the others, but because it’s something I’ve spent so long keeping to myself and making sure no one but those involved knew what really happened,” Ed said. “Like Reid here, some people put two and two together and figured it out and some people spent years accepting a lie until circumstances and my trust in them forced my hand.” He saw the BAU shift slightly as they realised how serious he was being.

 

“Ed, I don’t know what you want to tell us but if you’re not comfortable doing so, you really don’t have to,” JJ said from where she sat on the opposite bench. “Especially if this is some way for you to prove you trust us because we know you do, Ed.” Ed shook his head when she said this.

 

“It’s not some way for me to prove to anyone that I trust you. It’s something I think you have a right to know about me,” Ed assured her. “I’ve spoken to Al, the Lions and Shiro about telling you and they all said the same thing; that I don’t have to if I can’t talk about it. They all suggested the idea of me asking Reid to tell you when you got back to America but I told them the same thing I told Reid just now.” The BAU all exchanged concerned and curious looks before looking back at Ed.

 

“Alright, Ed. We’ll listen to what you want to tell us but we won’t judge you if you decide not to share it with us this time,” Hotch assured him, voice gentle and comforting.

 

“It’s about what really happened the night I lost my limbs. I think I told you guys that it was a farming accident, right?” Ed asked and the agents nodded in confirmation. “I figured. That’s normally my go-to answer whenever someone asks. No-one really questions it or wants to know any more details than that. No-one really has ever questioned me further about, especially if I tell them I’m from Resembool,” Ed said, though he sounded like he was realising that for the first time.

 

“Why don’t they?” JJ asked, hoping her question would make Ed feel like he was just having a casual conversation and would help him lose his tenseness a little.

 

“Dunno,” Ed shrugged. “Maybe because Resembool is a farming town and it’s more common than you’d think to hear of people getting into nasty farming accidents there than you’d realise. I remember when I was about six, one of our neighbours ran foul of his bull and the bull gouged my neighbour’s leg with his horn so badly, Granny was forced to amputate it at the hip and replace it. He was real lucky his wife had been home and heard his screams because Granny said he would’ve bled out otherwise,” Ed told them.

 

“Poor bastard,” Morgan said, cringing as he imagined what Ed had described.

 

“Granny called him an idiot for being in the paddock with the bull when it was angry as soon as he woke up after the automail surgery,” Ed told them, grinning as he remembered hearing about that from Winry when she’d visited them after the neighbour had woken and Granny had told her she didn’t need to be around the house to help her all the time.

 

“I’m a little scared to meet this woman,” JJ admitted and Ed laughed.

 

“She’ll love you and Miss Emily. She’s only mean to blokes,” Ed reassured her but Morgan made an interesting noise.

 

“You’re joking, right?” He asked and Ed’s response was to just laugh at him, which didn’t help his worry. The rest of the BAU were grinning in amusement at Morgan’s worry but the atmosphere soon took a serious note once more when Ed stopped laughing.

 

“You guys know that our mother passed away when I was 9 and Al was 8. You know that for two years after her death, Al and I moved towns to live with our alchemy teacher before we moved back to Resembool after Teacher declared us competent enough to survive without her,” Ed started telling them. “What you don’t know is that for a few months, maybe three months, after Teacher let us move back to Resembool, Al and I went through every journal and alchemic text our damned father left in his study, searching for the one array we should’ve never looked for. We read through every text we could get our hands on and after a little while, we went into town and bought everything we needed before we took it down to our basement and set everything up.” Ed blinked back against the tears, determined to not let them spill this time but knowing he likely would.

 

“We found a journal that listed the ingredients and array we needed to commit the ultimate taboo, the only transmutation so forbidden that the punishment is immediate death, though it’s rarely carried out because it’s so rare for someone who has activated the array to survive the rebound,” Ed told them. “In fact, I personally know of three other people who survived the transmutation,” he admitted. He risked a glance up and noted that some of the agents seemed to know what he was about to tell them. He glanced back at the ground before he continued talking.

 

“We wanted our mother back, we wanted to see her smile one more time, so we got the ingredients we bought together and sketched out the array carefully in the basement before we added the final ingredient – soul data – before activating the array.” Ed grinned ruefully. “There’s a reason any attempt to try human transmutation is met with the alchemist’s death, either by the array itself or the military if they found out about it.” He heard several gasps and felt a hand gripping his knee. He didn’t have to look to see it was Reid.

 

“For three, maybe four seconds, Al and I thought we’d done the impossible and had successfully brought our mother back to life. I remember looking in Al’s eyes as the blue alchemic energy danced around us. It was like the energy was as excited as we were, dancing in celebration of our success,” Ed said, sounding a little wistful as he remembered the memory. “Then it went to hell. You remember what the alchemic energy looked like when Harding’s stone rebounded on him?” Ed didn’t look up for the answer but continued on talking. He felt the Lions sending the mental version of comforting hugs through his bond, trying to make him feel warm and safe.

 

“The alchemic energy in our basement was so fierce, it nearly tore the basement apart. The windows almost broke and some of the boards started rattling as they were almost shaken loose. The energy turned from the blue it should’ve been to the reds and purples, indicating a rebound. I had all of two seconds to process how much we had fucked up before I was in indescribable pain. When I looked, half my left leg was gone and there was rapidly growing pool of blood in it’s place,” Ed told them almost clinically. “Before I could really process the fact that half my leg was just _gone_ , I heard Al cry out for me. When I looked for him, I saw him being grabbed by hundreds of small black hands. You guys probably saw them when Truth sent you through the Gate,” Ed said, glancing up and seeing no small amount of horror, shock and grief on their faces.

 

“Ed…” JJ trailed off but Ed didn’t give her the chance to think of what she wanted to actually say.

 

“Alphonse was torn apart in front of me, literally. Each small hand grabbed a piece of him and he disintegrated before my eyes. I reached for to try and save him but he disappeared just before I touched him,” Ed told them, scrubbing at the few tears that had managed to slip loose. “The next thing I knew, I was in Truth’s world for the first time. After it told me what it was, it sent me through the Gate of Knowledge. When I came back from it, I demanded to be sent back because I hadn’t learned the answer I needed to know. It laughed at me and told me I had learned all I could for the price I paid,” Ed almost growled, remembering those moments with unerring clarity. He doubted he’d ever forget any moment of that night, no matter how many years passed.

 

“Payment?” Morgan asked, voice shaking a little. Ed nodded.

 

“My leg was my payment. Al’s body was his,” Ed told them.

 

“But – your arm? And Al?” JJ asked, voice thick and confused.

 

“Alphonse was taken from me. I was thrown out of Truth’s dimension and realised Al wasn’t there. I begged – pleaded – for someone to help me, to give me Al back but no one answered me. Then I remembered why we’d been in the basement in the first place so I begged my mother for help.” Ed shuddered violently. “Whatever we made wasn’t human,” Ed told them, voice thick with thick as he tried to control the nausea he felt at the memory. “I knew I was the only one who could save Al but I was in so much pain and shock that I couldn’t think straight. I still don’t know what happened but the answer suddenly came to me and I knew what I needed to do to try and save some part of Al.” Ed took in a deep breath and quietly cleared his throat before continuing. No one dared to interrupt him now. “I dragged myself over to an old suit of armour Hohenheim had left in the basement, pulled it down and drew an array using my blood that would bind Al’s soul to it, essentially bringing him back, just not whole. The price I paid for that was my arm,” Ed revealed and he heard someone murmur something but ploughed over them, anxious to finish what he was saying.

 

“I lost consciousness but Al apparently carried me all the way to Granny Pinako’s house, woke her and Winry up and they saved my life. I was unconscious for two days once we got there. When I woke up, Granny lectured me within an inch of my life before telling me she had gone to our home once I was stabilised to rid the house of any evidence of what we’d done. She scrubbed the floors, cleared up the papers and books we’d used as references and buried that _thing_ in the backyard,” Ed said before sighing.

 

“Mustang and Miss Riza found us a few days later. Apparently, there had been rumours that reached East City about a powerful alchemist living in Resembool. Mustang thought the rumour was about Hohenheim but it was about me and Al. He broke into our house and saw the evidence Granny had been able to get rid of completely, figure out where we were and barged into Granny’s home to yell at us. After Al made him calm down, Mustang offered me a position in the military once I was healed.” Ed scowled as he thought of what he was going say next but continued anyway.

 

“That offer probably saved my life, if I’m being honest. It certainly made it possible for me to bring Al back whole five years after we committed the ultimate taboo. Because of Mustang’s offer, I had the funds I needed to travel across the country, chasing down rumours about the Philosopher’s Stone and we were able to uncover the homunculi and Father’s plan to murder everyone in Amestris to become some ultimate god so he could devour Truth. Sometimes, I question why we didn’t let him but then I remember we would’ve all been dead so it wouldn’t have been worth it,” Ed joked weakly.

 

“So when you told us Al sacrificed himself during Promised Day?” Rossi asked and Ed nodded.

 

“I didn’t lie. Al really did die during Promised Day and I brought him back,” Ed told them. “Father had managed to destroy my automail arm and impale my flesh arm on a piece of rebar sticking out of some debris. I couldn’t get myself off of it and Father was readying himself to kill me. Al, the idiot, had the Xingese Princess, Mei Chang, use alkahestry on me and him, reversing the seal that tied his soul to the armour. When she did that, it forced the payment for Al’s soul being bound to the amour to be repaid. I got my right arm back, pulled myself off the rebar and went to town on Father,” Ed said vindictively.

 

“Once the dust had settled after Father was destroyed, I committed human transmutation once more. This time, I wasn’t taking no for an answer. I offered Truth my alchemy in exchange for Al, body and soul but, as you know, Truth offered me a counter deal; it would take my right arm back and I would owe it one favour that it could cash in at any time in exchange for Al and me keeping my alchemy,” Ed finished saying. After a moment of silence, Ed shifted nervously. “That’s everything I wanted to tell you,” he said, unsure if they’d realised he’d actually finished telling them everything.

 

When Ed finally looked up and made himself actually look at each of them properly, he found himself shocked by their expressions. Reid, having known about this already, looked saddened to hear the story again but he had a stubborn set to his jaw, like he was ready to fight on Ed’s behalf if his team said or did anything. JJ and Prentiss had tears tracking their way down their cheeks, which caused guilt to flare in Ed. He hated making people cry. The biggest surprise for Ed thought was the fact that Morgan, Hotch and Rossi all had watery eyes as well. Their tears didn’t spill over but Ed was still shocked to see them at all. The Lions were the ones who pointed something else out to him.

 

 _“None of them hate or are disgusted by you, did you notice?”_ Blue asked gently and Ed jolted as he took in the BAU once again and realised she was right. _“That’s because they know what happened was a tragic accident that wasn’t your fault,”_ Blue said, a small amount of smugness at being proven right in her voice. The other Lions couldn’t suppress their own victorious feelings completely either. Ed felt Reid squeeze his knee once more and looked over at the youngest agent.

 

“Give them a few moments to process what you said,” Reid said, obviously assuming Ed was silently panicking at the silence from the others. Ed nodded and leaned slightly into Reid as he waited for the verbal reactions from the BAU.

 

“Edward, I –“ Hotch was the first one to speak but he seemed to be stumbling over his words, which was a first for Ed to witness as the man had always seemed to be able to roll with everything thrown at him. “Firstly, thank you for sharing the true cause behind your injuries with us. I understand how difficult it would’ve been to talk about it if it had been caused by something like a farming accident as you originally claimed but hearing the true story behind what happened? I’m not surprised you had so much trouble deciding whether to share it with us or not,” Hotch said, locking gazes with Ed. Ed just knew his mouth was slightly agape in shock at being thanked for telling them about what had happened.

 

“Oh, Edward, I can’t believe you and Al both went through something as horrific as that at such a young age! I can’t believe the two of you managed to survive it either,” JJ admitted, wiping the tears off her face. Hotch looked a little irritated at being cut off but JJ took no notice of him.

 

“Jeez, kid, every time I think I’ve heard the worst thing you’ve been through; you just have to prove me wrong,” Morgan weakly teased from beside Ed, giving Ed a slightly watery smirk before he looped his arm carefully around Ed’s shoulders and pulled him towards himself for a one-armed hug.

 

“Sorry?” Ed said, extremely unsure of whether he should be apologising for that or not. His confusion caused some of the BAU to laugh at him, though the laughter wasn’t as humourous as it ordinarily would’ve been.

 

“You weren’t wrong when you said Elrics were hard to kill, were you?” Rossi half-joked and Ed cracked a smile.

 

“I really wasn’t. We honestly should’ve died a dozen times over each before Promised Day,” Ed said with a slight chuckle. It hadn’t slipped Ed’s notice that Prentiss hadn’t said anything yet but he tried not to let it get to him.

 

 _“I think she’s still processing,”_ Green said, using Ed’s sight to check on the dark-haired woman. Ed didn’t argue with Green’s opinion but the pessimistic side of him was telling him that Prentiss wasn’t saying anything because she hated him now.

 

“I always knew you were a brave person, Ed, but I never knew how brave you were. To go through all of that and still be able to joke and laugh each day? That’s some strength I can admire,” Prentiss said completely seriously, reaching over Morgan to squeeze Ed’s flesh forearm carefully so she didn’t move it in the sling too much.

 

“Aw, look what you’ve done, Prentiss. You’ve made him blush!” Morgan teased, pinching one of Ed’s flaming red cheeks, causing the blonde to yelp and bat his hand away.

 

“Shut up, Morgan! I’m not!” Ed insisted, even as his blush deepened vividly as he tried to wriggle his way out of Morgan’s grip while the others chuckled.

 

“Derek Morgan, behave yourself,” JJ said sternly, though her eyes had a spark of amusement in them. Morgan obeyed her instantly, releasing Ed, who scooched over closer to Reid slightly, just in case Morgan decided to try anything again.

 

“Edward, we understand why you didn’t want to tell us about the nature of the accident that caused you and Al such grievous injuries,” Hotch said and immediately the mood dropped again, “but you have my promise that I will keep your secret like it was my own.” Ed could tell just how deadly serious Hotch was as he made that promise.

 

“I will as well,” Rossi swore and soon Ed had promises from everyone else in the compartment. Reid even swore once more to not tell a soul.

 

“There is something I’d like to know though, just so we’re on the same page,” Hotch said and Ed nodded for him to continue. “Would you like us to tell Garcia or would you prefer to tell her yourself, if we somehow manage to be in the same dimension again?” Ed didn’t answer right away simply because he didn’t know how to answer.

 

Like he’d said so many times to so many different people, this was something he didn’t want other people sharing on his behalf. It should be his and Al’s burden to share and only his and Al’s. But Ed also knew what the chances were of him ever seeing the BAU were extremely slim. If he asked the agents to keep his secret from Garcia, he knew they would. None of them would ever tell her anything but he also knew keeping such a secret from her could cause a rift between them and Garcia and it wouldn’t be fair of him to ask them to risk that.

 

“I – I need to think about it. I’ll give you an answer when we’re in Resembool,” Ed said, brow creasing as he gave his answer.

 

“That’s fine, Edward. We won’t tell her unless we have your express permission,” Hotch reassured him and Ed nodded, knowing that the team would follow Hotch’s lead.

 

“Thank you,” Ed said, not specifying what he was thanking them for and hoping they wouldn’t ask but, naturally, his luck wasn’t that good.

 

“Why are you thanking us?” Prentiss asked but Ed just shrugged.

 

“Because they didn’t hate you when you told them what you did,” Reid guessed, remembering what Ed had said when Reid had asked why Ed was surprised the young agent had taken everything so well. Ed glared at him but the glare lacked the heat that would’ve made it effective.

 

“Aw, blondie, we could never hate you!” Morgan said, ruffling Ed’s hair, causing the young alchemist to grumble and complain about the treatment.

 

“Morgan’s correct. You’ll have to try a lot harder to make us hate you,” Hotch said, gifting Ed with a rare smile.

 

“I feel like I should point out that that isn’t a challenge,” Rossi tacked on quickly to the end of Hotch’s statement and causing the others to chuckle as Ed grinned.

 

“You sure?” Ed asked cheekily before letting his smirk turn into a genuine smile. “Thanks, guys.” This time he didn’t have to clarify why he was thanking them

 

“You’re welcome, Ed,” Hotch said and the others smiled or nodded at him.

 

“Now, why don’t you tell us more about Granny Pinako and Winry? We haven’t heard many stories about them yet,” JJ suggested, giving Ed a lovely smile. “I imagine you have plenty of stories from your childhood about them.”

 

“Yeah, I can do that,” Ed said, relaxing slightly into his seat in between Morgan and Reid.

 

He started telling them about one of his first memories he could remember that had Granny and Winry in it. As he was talking, he felt the Lions press on their bond with him a lot more than usual, sending their pride in and love for him through it, while they also listened to Ed talk. Ed felt himself relax further the longer he talked and he couldn’t help but think he should probably thank Al for suggesting he not leave any secrets between him and the agents when he sees his brother next. 

* * *

 

The rest of the train trip passed uneventfully, with the exception of the delays at a couple of stations in between Central and Resembool. When JJ expressed her concern over the delays, Ed assured her that no one who got on a train in Amestris truly expected to arrive at their destination on time. Ed did end up heading back to the second compartment almost halfway through the trip, just to make sure the others were alright and that nothing major had happened while he wasn’t there. After Al assured him that they were alright, Ed left to go back to the BAU but this time, Al decided to join him.

 

Some of the agents decided to go to Mustang’s compartment and join him and Hawkeye while Ed and Al stayed with the remaining agents. They seemed to be rotating themselves between the brothers and the soldiers for the duration of the train ride. The entire train ride seemed to go so much faster than Ed remembered it being because it seemed like no time at all after his talk with the BAU that the conductor was announcing their next stop was going to be Resembool station.

 

“At least we’ll be making this walk during the day this time,” Ed remarked as he looked out the window and the scenery flashed by.

 

“I expect that would make the walk a little easier,” JJ said with a half-grin.

 

“For you guys, Captain Hawkeye and General Mustang, maybe. But Brother and I can navigate these streets with our eyes closed,” Al said, voice tinged with no small amount of pride. JJ gave him an indulgent smile before turning back to watching the scenery.

 

The Lions were using Ed’s eyes to watch the scenery as well and Ed had a feeling it was because they hadn’t come across a planet with landscapes quite like what Amestris has. Ed did have to admit that he really did miss the country sometimes. Being in a city as big as Central sometimes made him feel almost claustrophobic so it was good knowing he could hop on a train and be in open spaces in only a few hours.

 

The conductor finally made the announcement that they were about to pull into Resembool station and Ed felt the train slow down. He was on his feet before the train had fully stopped in the station, noting Al did the same while the BAU elected to remain seated. The telling squeal of the brakes finally cut out and Ed swayed with the jolt that always happened when the train came to a complete stop.

 

“Let’s go,” Ed said as he slid open the compartment door. The agents in the compartment with him and Al grabbed their bags and the bags the other agents had left stowed under the bench seats.

 

They followed the small crowd of people who were disembarking in Resembool before being joined by the others once they were on the platform. Once they were all back together, the agents who were in Mustang’s compartment were given their bags back by the other agents.

 

“Fullmetal, you lead the way,” Mustang ordered.

 

“I don’t even know why you bothered making that an order,” Ed said, rolling his eyes. “It’s not like you could get us to Granny’s without getting us lost.” There were a couple of suspicious coughs from the BAU before Ed gestured for them to follow him and Al.

 

Since Pinako had told Ed and Al she didn’t need them to get anything for her when they arrived, they didn’t make any stops on their way through the small town. Ed and Al were stopped by a few locals who said hello, asked what had happened to cause their injuries and passed on some local gossip before they left the group to continue to Pinako’s.

 

Once they were on the outskirts of town, the walk went a lot quicker since they weren’t stopped by any friendly townspeople. Ed and Al took turns pointing out places along their path that had a story attached to it for them and Al was the one to point out the hill their home had once stood. Unlike when Ed had brought Gracia and Elysia to Pinako’s, the BAU were able to see the burnt-out ruins that still remained.

 

Ed and Al finally turned up a long, narrow road that veered off the wider road they had been walking on and it didn’t take the BAU long to figure out they were walking up the Rockbell’s driveway. The house and sign that proudly proclaimed who the home and surgery belonged to finally came into view. When Den finally came running to greet them, barking excitedly when Ed and Al called out to him, and couple of the BAU agents paused instinctively at the sight of a large dog coming straight at them.

 

“This is Granny’s dog, Den. He’s almost as old as I am now,” Al introduced him as he scratched behind on of the black and white dog’s ears while Ed ruffled some of the fur on his back.

 

“Come on, boy. Let’s go see your owners,” Ed said, whistling for Den to follow once the BAU agents had introduced themselves to him. Morgan had done so with more hesitation than any of the others but Den merely licked his hand before joining Ed. Reid teased Morgan for his nervousness around Den as they followed behind the two boys and the dog.

 

“Edward? Alphonse?” A woman none of the group had noticed called from the front door.

 

“Hey, Miss Gracia!” Ed called back, giving her a big wave. The two brothers picked up speed, as did the rest of the group, and met the woman just as she made it down the front stairs.

 

“Oh, what happened to you two this time?” Gracia asked as she fretted over them, taking in Ed’s slinged arm and bandaged neck and Al’s head wound and scratched cheek.

 

“We got Mustang released but the person who framed him did not want to surrender,” Ed told her and Gracia sighed.

 

“But you’re alright? Both of you?” Gracia asked, placing a hand on one their cheeks as her worried eyes flicked between the two of them.

 

“Nothing that won’t heal within a couple of weeks, Miss Gracia,” Ed assured her with a soft smile. Al nodded to back up Ed’s claim and Gracia relaxed a little.

 

“Elysia is having a nap. She was up late last night so she could greet Winry when she got into the train station. Winry’s in her workshop and Pinako is organising cots for everyone. I was helping her until I heard Den barking and came to investigate,” Gracia explained. Den yapped once, as though he was supporting her story before he walked up the stairs and lay down at the top of them.

 

“Ed can introduce you to everyone. I’m gonna go and say hello to Granny and Winry and see if Granny needs any help,” Al said, squeezing Gracia’s hand where it still sat on his cheek before heading into the house, giving Den a pat as he walked passed the dog.

 

“Come on, Miss Gracia. I’ll introduce you,” Ed said, mimicking Al and squeezing Gracia’s hand before dropping it. Mustang and Hawkeye chose that moment to step away from the BAU, likely to give the BAU the spotlight, so to speak, but their movement caught Gracia’s eye.

 

“Roy! Riza!” She exclaimed before enveloping Mustang in a hug. “I didn’t see you there. Are you alright, Roy?” Gracia asked, beginning her fussing routine on him before she noticed Hawkeye’s cast. “Oh, Riza, are you alright? What happened?” Gracia’s attention went straight from Mustang to Hawkeye in a flash, much to Mustang’s slight shock and the other’s amusement.

 

“Thank you for your concern, Gracia, but I’m alright,” Hawkeye assured her, squeezing one of her hands gently in an extra attempt to reassure the blonde woman. “I was kidnapped by the person responsible for framing General Mustang. Edward and the team found me before too long,” she told Gracia in response to her second question. Gracia gasped in shock as she squeezed Hawkeye’s hand comfortingly.

 

“Oh, Riza, I’m glad they got you out but I’m so sorry you had to go through that at all,” Gracia said, eyes shining a little wetly. Before anyone could say anything else, there was an excitable shout from inside the house and Gracia laughed lightly. “I think my daughter is awake,” she said in answer to the confused looks from everyone.

 

“Big brother Ed!” They heard a young child call just before the front door opened to allow Elysia outside. The young girl saw the strangers but she barely hesitated as she threw herself at Ed. The alchemist couldn’t quite stop the grunt of pain that escaped when Elysia unwittingly hit the stitches in his abdomen and made his ribs flare in painful protest. “Big brother, are you hurt?” Elysia asked, peering up at him as she took a step away from him.

 

“Yeah, a little bit but I’m fine, El,” Ed said, crouching down so he was eye-level with the little girl, wincing internally as he felt the stitches on his calf pull warningly.

 

“Are you sure? You have a lot of bandages,” Elysia said, stumbling a little over the big word but grinning proudly when she didn’t mispronounce it.

 

“I know I do but they’re there just to make sure I keep my hurts clean until the doctor looks at them again,” Ed said, smiling at her. The little girl’s own smile grew as she wrapped her arms around Ed’s neck far more carefully than she normally would’ve. Ed squeezed her just as carefully with his automail arm. “Why don’t you see who else is here?” Ed whispered in her ear and watched with amusement as she carefully studied the BAU before her eyes fell on Mustang and Hawkeye.

 

“Uncle Roy! Miss Riza!” Elysia squealed, almost causing Ed to flinch at the volume of it, before she let go of his neck and ran towards the two of them.

 

Ed watched as Mustang caught her when Elysia threw herself at him and swept her up in a big hug. He straightened up carefully from his crouch, twitching when the stitches on his calf pulled slightly but he waved off the concerned looks he garnered from some of the agents.

 

“How have you been, Elysia?” Mustang asked once Elysia had pulled back from the hug, though she hadn’t demanded to be let down just yet.

 

“I’ve been good! Granny and Mumma showed me heaps of really pretty things and I did lots and lots of drawings for you and my big brothers and Miss Riza and _all_ of the team! I even did some for the Lions in big brother Ed’s mind so he can show them for me!” Elysia answered excitably. Ed felt the Lions coo in his head and he resisted the urge to make fun of them.

 

 _“When we visit you, you must let us meet Elysia first. What a sweetie,”_ Black informed him and Ed nodded in agreement as he listened to Elysia chatter to Mustang about everything else she’d been doing while in Resembool.

 

“Miss Riza! You’re hurt,” Elysia cried, pointing at the cast she’d just spotted on the captain’s left arm. She wriggled out of Mustang’s grip and stood in front of Hawkeye.

 

“Yes, I am, Elysia, but I’m alright now,” Hawkeye told her, doing as Ed did and crouching so she could look the little girl in the eyes.

 

“Can I draw on it?” Elysia asked, obviously believing Hawkeye’s claim so she now no longer worried.

 

“We’ll see,” Hawkeye said with an indulgent smile.

 

“El, come over here. I need to introduce you to some people,” Ed called, rescuing Hawkeye from Elysia’s pleading eyes.

 

“Who are they, big brother?” Elysia asked once she was in between Ed and Gracia.

 

“They’re who I want to introduce you too. Do you remember Granny Pinako, your mum and I talking about me going to meet some people in town just before I left you and your mum here?” Ed asked. Elysia frowned before her expression turned to remembrance and she nodded enthusiastically. “These are the people I had to go meet,” Ed said. “These are Agents Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, Derek Morgan and Doctor Spencer Reid.” Ed had pointed them out as he said their names. “Guys, these are Gracia and Elysia Hughes,” Ed said, grinning as Gracia gasped.

 

“They’re the agents from your first inter-dimensional trip, aren’t they?” She asked and Ed nodded. Gracia surged forward and grabbed an extremely surprised Reid and JJ around the necks and pulled them into possibly the tightest, yet quickest, hugs Ed have ever seen Gracia give in his life before she moved onto Morgan and Prentiss before she gave Rossi and Hotch the same treatment and backed off to look at them all. “Thank you for making sure Roy and Edward made it home alive the first time they wound up in your world and thank you for answering Ed’s call and rushing to help him and Roy the second time,” Gracia said, voice thick with her gratitude. “I never thought I’d get to thank the people who helped them face-to-face,” she chuckled a little wetly.

 

“These are your friends from the place you went on your super-secret trips with Uncle Roy?” Elysia asked, tugging on Ed’s jacket so he’d look at her.

 

“The first two trips. Remember, on the third trip I met the Lions and the Paladins,” Ed told her.

 

“And the space princess,” Elysia said and Ed nodded.

 

“And the space princess,” he agreed before looking up as Hotch spoke.

 

“There’s no need to thank us for helping them, Mrs. Hughes-“

 

“Oh, please call me Gracia.” Hotch nodded with a smile, seemingly not minding the interruption.

 

“Gracia,” he amended. “While we may not have started on the most trustworthy foot, Edward and Mustang certainly earned our loyalty and friendship. We would never have left either of them in a strange city and no one they know near them. They’re too likely to find trouble.” Hotch’s tone may have been dry but there was amusement in his eyes.

 

“Hey!” Ed protested indignantly, making almost everyone laugh at his pout.

 

“It’s not like he’s wrong, Fullmetal,” Mustang smirked and Ed pointed a threatening finger at him.

 

“Don’t make me hit you in front of Elysia,” Ed snarked.

 

“No hitting.” Both JJ and Gracia spoke at the same time before looking at each other slightly surprised then sharing a grin.

 

“Thank you for helping my big brother and my uncle,” Elysia said, a little shy, as she huddled next to Ed’s leg. Her voice was effective in stopping Mustang and Ed from trying to glare each other to death.

 

“You’re welcome, sweetie,” JJ said kindly.

 

“Why don’t we head inside? Al can introduce you to Granny while I see if I can bribe Winry out of her workshop so she can yell at me for risking her automail and meet you lot,” Ed grumbled as a couple of the BAU agents laughed at him, obviously remembering his stories from the train.

 

“I’ll go with you, big brother,” Elysia said and Ed nodded as if this was the best idea he’d ever heard.

 

“Yes. You can protect me from her,” Ed said, poking Elysia in the side gently to make her laugh, grinning at her squeals of laughter.

 

“I’m sure she’s not that scary,” Morgan teased as they followed him up the stairs.

 

“She’s far scarier than Den,” Ed said, nodding to the dog Morgan had tried to inconspicuously give a wide berth. “Unlike him, Winry would actually bite you,” Ed told him. She’d done that once before, though to be fair, they had been five.

 

“I wondered if you and your friends were going to stand outside all day.” Pinako’s croaky voice preceded her appearance in the room, Al following behind with a mattress. “I guess it’s too much to ask that you pay us one visit were you’re not covered in bandages and bruises,” Pinako sighed as she took in Ed’s appearance.

 

“I was perfectly uninjured when I dropped Miss Gracia and El off,” Ed protested and Pinako gave a hum that could’ve been one of agreement or of derision.

 

Her hard eyes flicked to Mustang as she tapped her pipe on the table next to her. “Mustang. I suppose congratulations are in order,” Pinako said flatly. “It’s good to see you again, Captain Hawkeye.”

 

“Thank you for your hospitality, Pinako,” Hawkeye said, bowing slightly. Pinako waved her thanks off.

 

“Go put that in the other room, Alphonse,” Pinako instructed and Al and the mattress disappeared through the other door. “I suppose these are the people being held in our holding cells in town than.” Pinako puffed on her pipe as she gave the six agents a look over.

 

“Yes, they are. Granny Pinako, these are six of the seven people who helped me and Mustang hunt down Harding on our first inter-dimensional trip.” As he did with Elysia and Gracia, Ed pointed to the agent whose name he said as he introduced them.

 

“Pleasure,” Pinako said, taking another long draw on her pipe. “Thank you for making sure my adopted grandson and his boss came back in one piece when they turned up in your world,” Pinako said, giving them a slight bow. “Am I right to think you also helped sort out the mess Mustang got himself into?” Pinako asked.

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Hotch said.

 

“’Pinako’ is fine,” Pinako told him, pointing her pipe at him. “I trust Mustang has already thanked you for that but I’ll thank you for helping Edward,” Pinako said, a touch gruffly before turning back to Edward. “Winry wanted to see you the moment you arrived so I suggest you get up there,” she informed him.

 

“If I don’t come back alive, it was great seeing you guys again,” Ed said solemnly, though his lips were upturned in a grin. He did shoot Pinako a glare when she muttered something that sounded like ‘dramatic’ under her breath.

 

“Can I come with you? I’d love to see an automail workshop,” Reid said, eyes lit up with hope and Ed shrugged a shoulder.

 

“You can come with but she might kick you out so fair warning,” Ed said, beckoning him to follow as Elysia led Ed himself up the staircase by his automail arm.

 

“Elysia, you be careful you don’t disrupt your big sister too much,” Gracia called as they disappeared up the stairs.

 

“Okay, mumma!” They heard Elysia call back and Gracia shook her head while the agents offered Pinako their help with getting things ready. 

* * *

 

“If she grabs her wrench and aims it at you, consider it a gun and run for your life,” Ed warned Reid as they approached the workshop door.

 

“You know, I can’t tell if you’re joking or not,” Reid commented as Ed let Elysia knock on the door. Barely two moments later, the door was wrenched open and a glaring Winry stood facing them.

 

“It’s about time you turned up, Edward. Who’s that?” Winry asked, jolting as she realised there was someone other than Elysia and Ed standing outside her room.

 

“This is Doctor Spencer Reid, one of the people I met in America on two of the super-secret trips I took,” Ed said, ruffling Elysia’s hair when Winry looked like she was about to ask why he was calling them that.

 

“Pleasure to meet you, Doctor Reid,” Winry said, extending an arm for him to shake.

 

“Oh, please call me ‘Reid’.” Winry nodded as she released his hand.

 

“I’m Winry, this idiot’s best friend,” Winry said, jerking her head at Ed, who just sighed in resignation at the name-calling.

 

“Granny said you wanted to see me right away. If it’s just to insult me, bring it on, gearhead,” Ed snarked. Winry gave him a dirty look before grabbing his automail arm and dragging him inside her room.

 

“Of course it isn’t,” she snapped as she led him to her workbench. “Reid and Elysia, you can come in,” Winry called, not bothering to look around to see her invitation was unnecessary. “I’m not even going to bother asking what you got yourself into this time. I’m sure I’ll hear about it at some point but did you hurt either joint or limb?” Winry asked, already tugging up Ed’s jacket sleeves to look for herself.

 

“No, I didn’t,” Ed said, wrenching his arm out of her grip and glaring at her when she went to grab it once more.

 

“You’re not lying to me, are you?” Winry asked, wrench suddenly in hand and pointing at Ed’s face in a threatening manner.

 

“I got sick of all your lectures about damaging my automail so I decided to let the bi-“ Ed glanced at Elysia before focusing on Winry again, “ _bad guy_ hit all the far more easily damaged parts of me instead so I could avoid another one,” Ed snapped.

  
“Good,” Winry said, turning to her bench as Ed resisted the urge to flip her off while she had her back turned.

 

“Insufferable witch,” Ed muttered as he sat on Winry’s bed and let Elysia climb into his lap. Reid looked torn between amused and worried. “Why’d you want me up here?” Ed asked as Elysia fussed over his sling.

 

“I told Alphonse I had a new set of automail for you. I need to take your measurements to make sure they’ll fit – though I’m certain they will – and if they do, I want to install them today since I assume you’ll want the whole day tomorrow to get over the usual aches and what-not,” Winry said, turning around with a case in her arms. “This is your new set,” she said, placing the case on the stool next to the bed and opening the lid.

 

“Shiny,” Ed commented drily before looking at Winry. “What’s so special about this set?” He asked, almost regretting it when she lit up in delight.

 

“This is another cold-weather set so it’s lighter than your current set but,” Winry said just as Ed was about to comment, “I’ve added some extra stuff.” She shifted before pointing out different thing. “You’ll have your hidden dagger in the index finger like usual but I’ve also added a thin, flat blade to the leg that can be unsheathed like a sword,” Winry told him, grasping the unattached leg and showing Ed where it was hidden.

 

“Wow, Winry. If I didn’t know it was there, I wouldn’t even notice it,” Ed complimented as he took the dagger from the leg.

 

“That’s the point,” Winry said, rolling her eyes but Ed knew she was pleased by the praise. “It’s made out of stronger material than this automail is so it should be a bit harder to destroy,” Winry told him as she accepted the dagger back and slid it in place. “I also messed with the formula for the steel. Like I said, it’s suited for the cold weather but it should also be far less prone to rust than the usual cold-weather sets are so if you do get thrown into a lake or river or whatever, you won’t have to get it dry as quickly as you ordinarily would.” Ed looked impressed. “Can I take your measurements now?” Winry asked and Ed knew the only reason she hadn’t demanded he strip was because Reid and Elysia were in the room.

 

“Hey, El?” The little girl looked up at him. “Why don’t you go and see if Miss Riza will let you draw on her cast now?” Ed suggested.

 

“Okay, big brother!” Elysia exclaimed excitably before she scrambled off his lap and shot out the door, though she did close it behind her.

 

“That should keep her entertained for a while,” Ed said as he took his arm out of the sling and pulled off his two jackets while he kicked his boots off at the same time.

 

On account of his calf injury and the fact that he knew they wouldn’t be doing anything more stressful than walking; Ed wasn’t in his normal leather pants but a pair of looser slacks that he would normally only wear if he was spending the day indoors. He wriggled out of them so he was left in his tank top and boxer shorts before sitting on Winry’s bed, leaning against the wall with his legs stretched out in front of him. Winry grabbed her measuring tape and started talking the measurements she wanted.

 

“How come you’re doing that if you’ve already made the limbs, Winry?” Reid asked and Ed only just stopped himself from startling. He’d nearly forgotten the young doctor was even in the room.

 

“I made the new set based off of the most recent measurements of his I had but they’re a couple of months old. Though rare, it is possible Ed could’ve grown a bit in those months,” Winry teased but to her disappointment, Ed didn’t take the bait. The fact that he hadn’t really reacted to teasing comments like he used to in the months before Promised Day didn’t stop Winry from trying to get a reaction other than an eye roll out of him in the months since.

 

“Why would it be rare? Statistically, human males stop developing around the age of 18, though it’s not uncommon for some to continue growing into their early 20’s,” Reid said.

 

“There’s a reason children typically don’t get automail and it’s because – depending on what body part they have lost – the automail can stunt growth and development,” Winry told him as she noted the last measurement and moved to the limbs in the case. “Edward was only 11 when he lost his limbs and elected to have automail installed. If he’d lost only a hand or a foot, for example, his growth likely wouldn’t have been as stunted,” Winry said.

 

“Plus, we have a theory that while Al was – OW! What the hell, Winry?!” Ed yelped when Winry hit him with the closest thing she could grab; her wrench. Winry just glared at him before turning back to her measurements of the new set of limbs. Ed rolled his eyes and muttered something too low for Reid or Winry to hear but the look on his face made Reid glad Winry couldn’t hear the alchemist. “As I was saying; we have a theory – Fucking hell! Why do you keep hitting me, you crazy witch?!” Ed snapped as he rubbed his head where Winry had hit him again. Winry just pursed her lips before looking pointedly at Ed then at Reid before back at Ed. It took him a moment but Ed finally figured out what her silent protest was and he rolled his eyes. “He _knows_ , you crazed gearhead. They all do,” Ed told her and watched in smug satisfaction as Winry’s mouth fell open.

 

“Well, how was _I_ supposed to know that, alchemy freak? It’s not like you told me you told them,” Winry sniffed haughtily. Reid was watching the scene unfold in almost horrified fascination.

 

“I can tell whoever I damn well want about what happened without running it past you, ya know,” Ed snarked, still rubbing his bruised head. “As I was saying,” Ed said, glaring at Winry before turning back to Reid, “we have a theory that Al’s body was somehow connected to mine; getting nutrients and whatnot from me to keep it – well healthy isn’t really the right word but it’s all I got – healthy enough so Al would survive when I got his body back,” Ed told him. “So, we think it’s a combination of my age when I got the automail installed and the fact that my body was being used to keep Al’s sustained that limited my growth so much,” Ed summed up.

 

“Alright, the measurements are fine. Do you want me to get Granny so we can do both at once or will you be alright if we do this one limb at a time?” Winry asked and Ed contemplated.

 

On one hand, he wouldn’t be tense over the second limb replacement and resulting pain if Winry got Pinako and they did both at the same time but then again, Pinako was busy with everyone downstairs and Ed didn’t really want to other people to follow Pinako up in curiousity – not that he thought anyone _would_ – but he didn’t want to risk that.

 

“I’ll be fine with just you. Granny’s probably busy anyway,” Ed said, nodding resolutely when Winry gave him a look asking if he was sure.

 

“Alright,” Winry didn’t sound like she thought he was making the right decision but she knew better than to argue. “Reid, you can help,” Winry said and Reid looked shocked and he wasn’t the only one.

 

“You’re going to let a person you don’t know touch your precious automail? Who are you and where’s the real Winry?” Ed asked seriously.

 

“Ha ha, you’re hilarious,” Winry deadpanned. “All Reid is going to do is hold you still when I connect each limb,” Winry said to the both of them. “Are you sure you don’t want me to get Granny? You normally don’t handle the second round of pain well, remember?” Winry asked and it was only the fact that her voice was pure concern that stopped Ed from saying something sarcastic in response.

 

“Yeah, I know but it’s fine, Winry. I think my pain tolerance has gone up a bit since I was 11,” Ed told her with a smirk on his face as she rolled her eyes.

 

“Fine but if you pass out and drool on my pillow, I’ll kick your arse, injured or not,” Winry warned him as she pulled the new limbs out of the case and set them on the bed. Ed glared at her then at Reid when he snorted in amusement. “Which limb do you want to start with?” Winry asked and Ed waved his automail hand at her.

 

“Where do you want me?” Reid asked, shifting in readiness to follow Winry’s orders.

 

“Nowhere right now. He’ll handle the first connection fine on his own. It’s the second one that’ll be the most painful,” Winry told him before turning to Ed. “Alright, I’m disconnecting your arm now,” she warned before she did it. It came off with a click and Winry placed it in the case where the new set had sat.

 

“Does it hurt when it’s disconnected?” Reid asked curiously and Ed shook his head.

 

“No, not unless it’s forcibly disconnected or ripped out of the joint but that hurts the joint and what’s left of my shoulder or leg more than anything. It’s a little weird because my nerves are convinced it’s still attached to me while my mind knows it isn’t because I can see there’s no limb there but there’s no actual pain,” Ed told him as he watched Winry line up the new arm to the joint.

 

“You ready?” Winry asked and Ed nodded before turning his head away from her. Reid could see he was forcing himself to stay relaxed and calm.

 

Winry moved quickly and the arm was connected easily and far quicker than Reid realised, though he imagined that was more because of how well-practised Winry was at connecting the limb. Ed’s whole body went rigid and the blonde couldn’t bite back his grunt of pain as his face screwed up in a grimace. The whole thing lasted only a few seconds but it was enough time for Reid to doubt his original theory that automail might be better than Earth’s prosthetics.

 

“You doing okay?” Winry asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Never better,” he said, though his voice held a note of pain. “You ready to do my leg yet?” Ed asked and Winry sighed.

 

“You’re a glutton for punishment,” she told him before moving away from side, passing between Reid and the foot of the bed before she knelt in between Ed’s automail leg and the wall. “I’m disconnecting it now,” she warned like she did for the arm. Ed nodded and soon enough, Winry had the leg disconnected. “Can you put this next to his old arm?” Winry asked Reid, who nodded and took the leg from her.

 

“I didn’t realise it was so heavy,” Reid exclaimed after letting out a grunt of exertion when Winry relinquished the leg to him.

 

“There’s a ton of tiny, intricate pieces in there and it’s made of heavy steel. What were you expecting?” Winry asked, as if it should’ve been obvious as she fussed over Ed’s leg joint.

 

“But Ed’s footsteps sound almost even and I’ve seen him hit someone with his automail arm and not even bruise them,” Reid said, sounding a little strained as he carried the automail limb over to the case and deposited it next to the arm.

 

“Ed has had his limbs for nearly seven years, if you include the year he spent getting used to having automail. He’s gotten very used to their weight and despite the heaviness of the leg, he can still sneak up on unsuspecting automail mechanics,” Winry glared daggers at Ed, who was trying not to laugh at her irritated tone.

 

“I haven’t done that for ages,” Ed said defensively, though his obvious amusement didn’t help his case.

 

“Five months is not ‘ages’, Edward Elric,” Winry growled before looking at Reid. “Alright, he’ll probably try to curl onto his side when I connect his leg. You need to make sure he doesn’t do that. He can’t put any pressure on his joints for a couple of minutes, no matter what he says otherwise,” Winry said, her last sentence obviously aimed at Edward.

 

“Whatever you reckon, Winry,” Ed muttered as Reid moved over to stand on Ed’s right. They watched as Winry lined up the limb with the connection joint, ready to install it.

 

“You need to relax, Ed, or it’ll hurt far worse,” Winry reminded him and Ed nodded before taking deliberately controlled breaths. Reid saw the tension in Ed’s body relax minutely immediately and after a minute of steady breathing, he barely looked tense. Winry got Reid’s attention and held up three fingers, mouthing the words ‘on three’. Reid nodded and readied himself to stop Ed from moving if need be but he didn’t touch the blonde yet.

 

Winry placed her hand on the limb, since she did need both hands to connect it, and mouthed her countdown to Reid. ‘1,’ she silently said, pulling the limb up so it was resting just below the joint, barely a hair’s breadth between it and the limb. ‘2,’ she mouthed, picking the end of the limb that would slot into the joint up off the bed so it wouldn’t catch on the bedding. ‘3,’ she finally mouthed to Reid as she slid the limb into place and connected it.

 

Two things happened as she did that; Reid placed his hands on Ed’s left shoulder and the centre of his chest to stop him from moving and Mustang opened the door with no warning and Ed’s State Alchemist title halfway out of his mouth. This time, Ed couldn’t hold back his pain-filled whimper as the leg was connected and he would’ve jolted off the bed if it weren’t for Reid and Winry holding him down.

 

“A little warning next time would be appreciated, Winry,” Ed gasped as he waited for his nerves to settle down so he could sit up again. “And for the love of everything, please tell me I only imagined Mustang barging into your room,” Ed asked, groaning when the following silence answered his question. “I’m assuming you have a reason for barging into Winry’s bedroom, Mustang?” Ed asked, finally opening his eyes and sitting up, ignoring Winry’s strangled protests. Since he couldn’t put weight on his left arm without straining the bullet wound and stitched gash, he was placing all his weight on his newly connected automail arm until he was upright enough to curl his right leg under his left and not rely on his arms. All outward signs of pain were gone but those who knew where to look could still see he was hurting. “Well?” He asked, glaring at Mustang.

 

“I came up here on behalf of Alphonse and Pinako to find out how long you planned on being as Pinako is ready to start cooking dinner,” Mustang said, an expression on his face that Ed couldn’t decipher. “I didn’t realise you were planning on having your automail replaced this evening. I thought you would’ve waited until tomorrow,” Mustang told them, a slightly apologetic tone his voice but Ed ignored it for the moment.

 

“That makes it okay to barge into Winry’s room without knocking?” Ed asked and Mustang shot him an irritated look that Ed had no trouble identifying.

 

“You barge into my office all the time without knocking, Fullmetal,” Mustang reminded him.

 

“That’s not the same thing and you know it,” Ed sniped back, wincing as his nerves decided to remind him that they were still sore.  Mustang looked a little worried before he smoothed his expression back to one of impassiveness. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Just tell Granny and Al I got my new set connected. They’ll know how long I’ll be,” Ed instructed.

 

“Fine,” Mustang said with a stiff nod. “I apologise for the interruption, Miss Rockbell,” Mustang said to Winry, dipping his head in apology before leaving the room.

 

“Well, that was awkward,” Winry said, causing Reid and Ed to snort as Ed started testing his new limbs. “You know, I wasn’t kidding about resting for a minute or two. It would do you some good to actually listen to your mechanic every now and then,” Winry scolded, puffing up in irritation when all Ed did was roll his eyes before ignoring her and getting off the bed.

 

“Damn, these are so much lighter than my old set,” Ed said as he nearly toppled over from overcompensating for the weight of the limbs.

 

“I told you so,” Winry crowed proudly as she packed up the old limbs and placed the case out of the way. “What do you think to the movement? Do they still feel right?” Winry asked as Ed did what he could of his normal stretches, limited by the fact that he couldn’t really use his left arm above shoulder level.

 

“Yeah, they feel good. This is probably your best set yet, Win,” Ed praised her as he shook himself to loosen his muscles a little more. Winry practically glowed from the compliment.

 

“So, what will you do with the old set?” Reid asked as Ed started getting dressed again.

 

“I’ll take them apart and see where I can improve them. Might end up cannibalising some of the internal parts but it’ll eventually get melted down so I can re-use the metal for other automail limbs,” Winry told him, sounding sad that her work would be destroyed. “At least I can do that with this set since it’s in one piece,” Winry said, aiming her sharp words over her shoulder to Ed.

 

“I wouldn’t complain, Winry, or I might go out of my way to destroy this set,” Ed threatened and Winry whirled around with her wrench in hand.

 

“You better not, Edward Elric, or you won’t live to regret it,” she growled and Ed held his hands up in surrender.

 

“Then don’t bitch when you get an old set back in one piece,” Ed said as he carefully tugged on his black jacket and slipping into his boots. Reid passed him his sling, which Ed took with a thankful smile and slipped over his head before placing his left arm in it securely.

 

“You know, you shouldn’t keep getting yourself in fights. One of these days, you’re gonna get too hurt,” Winry said as she watched him adjust his sling and the bandage around his neck.

 

“I’m fine, Winry. You know my missions can get dangerous but I have Al with me and normally a hospital nearby if I desperately need one,” Ed said with a tone that suggested this wasn’t the first time they’d had this argument.

 

“Are you going to renew your contract?” Winry asked bluntly. Her body language made it no secret what she wanted Ed’s answer to be.

 

“I haven’t decided. Grumman wants to talk to me about it when I get back,” Ed told her. She went to say something but Ed stopped her with a look. “The only person who has the final say in whether I renew that contract or not is me, Winry. I know you don’t like me going on missions after rogue alchemists and serial killers but it’s what I’m good at and I can help people doing it. I’m happy to listen to what you and Al have to say about my contract but it is ultimately my decision. You are not my mother, Winry, and as much as I love you and value our friendship, you don’t get to dictate my future for me,” Ed told her firmly.

 

“You love me?” Winry asked, tears welling in her eyes and Ed rolled his fondly.

 

“Course I do, Win. You’re the crazy sister I never wanted and didn’t know I needed. I wouldn’t put up with your abuse if I didn’t love you,” Ed teased and the tears that had seemed so close to falling from Winry’s eyes dried up as she threw her wrench at his head, though Ed did manage to duck it.

 

“You’re an arse,” she snarled though Reid could tell she didn’t mean it and judging from the smirk on his face, Ed knew that as well. “Get out of my workshop before I hit you,” Winry ordered and Ed swept up his red jacket before jokingly saluting her.

 

“Come on, Reid, you heard the crazy gearhead,” Ed said, pulling Reid out Winry’s room quickly and closing the door in time to hear Winry’s second-most favourite wrench hit the door. “Don’t forget Granny’s started dinner,” Ed said, poking his head back into her room and shutting the door just in time to hear what he thought was a screwdriver hit it.

 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Reid asked as Ed rolled his right shoulder and shook his left leg, trying to get his nerves to calm down further as they were still sensitive and the muscles around the joints were tight.

 

“Yeah, just need to get over the reconnection. It’s a bitch on my nerves every bloody time,” Ed said as he led Reid down the stairs.

 

 _“Are you alright?”_ Black asked, butting into his mind and causing Ed to flinch slightly.

 

“Where were you? I expected you and the others to be all over my case when you sensed my pain,” Ed asked. Reid’s confused face told him he’d accidentally spoken out loud and he mentally facepalmed. “Lions,” Ed said, pointing to his temple and Reid nodded in understanding.

 

 _“I’m sorry, Ed. Voltron was needed for an emergency rescue mission. We didn’t have the time to tell you and we only just got back to the Castle-ship. All of us felt your pain but we had to focus on the mission,”_ Blue told him, voice dripping in apology and Ed felt himself soften.

 

“It’s alright, I understand. I just got my new automail limbs connected and it wreaks havoc on my nerves, that’s all. How’d the mission go?” Ed asked, leaning against the wall closest to him. Reid mimicked him on the other side, apparently deciding to stay with him until the conversation was over.

 

 _“It was successful. No one was hurt and none of our robot forms were damaged. The aliens who were trapped were freed without injury and the Castle-ship was offered supplies as payment, which was excellent because we were starting to run out of a few things this planet supplied us with,”_ Yellow told him, voice buzzing with pride in a job well-done. Ed felt himself smile.

 

“That’s awesome, guys,” Ed praised and felt the Lions all puff up in pride.

 

 _“Are you sure you’re alright? I can still feel twinges of pain coming through your bond,”_ Blue asked, worry nearly overtaking her tone.

 

“Sorry,” Ed winced slightly in apology. This was one of the few times he hated their bond. He and the Lions could share pain, though both parties tried their damnedest to make sure that didn’t happen. “My nerves are still settling after the connection of the new limbs. It’ll get less painful in a few minutes and by morning, I won’t feel any pain or aches at all,” Ed reassured them and the Lions hummed in relief.

 

 _“We’re glad to hear that but you don’t need to apologise for your pain coming through the bond. Sometimes we can’t help it either,”_ Black told him. Ed nodded in acknowledgment and didn’t say anything else on the matter.

 

“I’m glad you’re alright and I want all the details later but I should go and see if the others need any help,” Ed said, tone slightly apologetic but the Lions smothered that feeling.

 

 _“There’s no need to be sorry for that either, cub,”_ Green told him. _“We’ll talk to you later. I’m sure our pilots will want to talk to you as well,”_ she said and Ed could feel her smile through the bond.

 

“Good, because I wanna talk to them too,” Ed said with a grin, looking forward to being able to speak with his friends though he did feel the familiar pang of sadness that he couldn’t do so without the Lions acting as a phone. The Lions backed off the bond slightly with another goodbye so Ed couldn’t hear all of their thoughts but could certainly sense them better than before. “Alright, Reid, let’s go and see what everyone’s up to,” Ed said before leading the way down the stairs, Reid following close behind. Moments later they reached the bottom step and emerged into the lounge room where everyone was waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would absolutely love to know what you thought to this chapter!! See you next week!


	29. Chapter 29

“Brother!” Al said, sounding surprised to see him downstairs so quickly. Ed gave him a grin as he surveyed the lounge room and noted everyone except Mustang and Hawkeye were present. Well, Pinako wasn’t there either but Ed could hear her pottering in the kitchen so he knew where she was. “Are you alright?” Al asked, suddenly appearing next to Ed and causing the older Elric to startle slightly.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. You know how it goes,” Ed said vaguely, not really wanting to cause the five agents who weren’t in Winry’s room with him any distress because of him. He wasn’t as successful as he’d hoped to be.

 

“What happened?” Prentiss asked as she and JJ beelined for the brothers.

 

“Are you alright?” JJ started fussing over Ed, even though she didn’t even know there was something to fuss over.

 

Ed looked pleadingly at his younger brother to save him from the women only to scowl when not only did Al look like he had no inclination to help Edward, he actually looked like he was going to join JJ and Emily in their mother-henning. Another glance for any support in his immediate vicinity showed that Reid had retreated to join the other BAU agents, abandoning Ed to the fretting of Prentiss, JJ and his own brother.

 

“I’m fine,” Ed said, answering JJ first since doing so seemed like the best way to calm them all down the quickest. “I had a new set of automail connected and it always causes some aches and stuff. It really is nothing to worry about,” Ed told them with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Neither woman looked overly convinced but Al relaxed, causing Ed to frown at him.

 

“What?” Al asked, giving Ed his own confused look when he noticed Ed’s expression.

 

“Didn’t Mustang tell you? He came barging into Winry’s workshop because you and Granny wanted our ETA. I told him to tell you I was getting a new set installed,” Ed said, voice leaning more towards annoyance with his boss than confusion with Al’s reaction.

 

“Oh, no, he told us but I was still worried. I always worry when you get a new set of limbs attached,” Al confided, a little sheepishly.

 

“Really? I’ve never noticed,” Ed said. “There’s no need for you to worry though. Winry does know what she’s doing, at least when it comes to automail,” Ed joked, causing Al to roll his eyes.

 

“One of these days she is going to kill you with her wrench and I’m just going to let her, you know,” Al said. Ed was 90% certain his younger brother was joking. “Also, you never noticed because you haven’t had a set replaced since Promised Day, with the exception of your arm that Father destroyed but I was in a coma for that, and I couldn’t really show emotion before Promised Day and I never told you I was worried,” Al told him, shrugging a shoulder nonchalantly.

 

“Good point but I’m still fine, just like I have been every other time I get my automail replaced,” Ed said firmly. “But going back to Mustang; where is he and Miss Riza anyway?” Ed asked and Al nodded towards the front veranda.

 

“Captain Hawkeye asked to speak with him privately once he came back from upstairs,” Al told him and Ed took a moment to wonder what exactly Hawkeye would need to talk to Mustang about right now before deciding she would tell him if Hawkeye thought it was his business.

 

“I hope she doesn’t make a mess if she kills him. I don’t want to be alchemising Mustang’s blood off the veranda,” Ed commented flatly and Al smacked him in the shoulder, though not as hard as was probably warranted.

 

“You’re not funny,” Al informed him though he didn’t look cross enough to really back-up his words.

 

“I’m hilarious and you know it,” Ed said, ruffling Al’s hair, though he was cautious about his head wound.

 

“No, you’re not.” Everyone turned to the front door when Mustang spoke and Ed scowled.

 

“Shut your face, Mustang. You wouldn’t know funny if it hit you in the face,” Ed snarled, scowling even more when Mustang seemed completely unphased by his words.

 

“If getting your automail changed for a new set hurts your nerves, should you even be walking around?” JJ asked, hoping to avoid a fight between the two alchemists and because she really was genuinely concerned.

 

“If he listened to his mechanic, no. What he should be doing is resting for an hour or so but he never does as he’s told.” Ed groaned when he heard Winry’s voice behind him.

 

“Miss JJ, Miss Emily, meet Winry. Winry, meet two of the BAU agents who helped Mustang and I in America and who Truth kidnapped to help me get Mustang’s sorry arse out of jail,” Ed introduced the women, stepping to the side so Winry could get past him. “And you know damn well I don’t need to rest after a new set have been connected. The best way for me to get over that is to spar,” Ed snapped at her as she walked past him.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Winry. We’ve heard quite a bit about you and your job as an automail mechanic,” JJ said with a pleasant smile, extending her hand to the mechanic. Winry shocked the blonde agent by using her hand to pull her into a hug.

 

“It’s so nice to be able to meet you! Thank you for making sure my idiot best friend didn’t get himself killed in your country,” Winry said as she hugged JJ tight before giving Prentiss a similar treatment.

 

“I can look after myself, you know,” Ed muttered and Winry gave him a flat look.

 

“Knowing you, you would’ve insulted someone over there and gotten yourself arrested or killed. Truth might’ve gotten you out of it the first time, since you were there doing it a favour, but not the second time,” Winry said as if it were a given fact.

 

“She’s not wrong,” Mustang said with a laugh. To Ed’s surprise, he wasn’t the only to shoot Mustang a glare. Both Winry and Hawkeye did as well.

 

“All due respect, Sir, but you would’ve wound up in a prison cell first,” Hawkeye said impassively and Ed could’ve sworn he heard Mustang make a wounded noise of betrayal.

 

“Captain Hawkeye?” Mustang’s questioning tone was enough for Hawkeye – and everyone else – to know what he was really asking.

 

“You were the first out of the pair of you to be arrested and placed in a holding cell here. There’s no reason to believe it wouldn’t have been the same in America, had you not had the BAU or NCIS teams helping you navigate their world,” Hawkeye informed him. Ed was impressed that she was even using Mustang’s arrest against him so soon and in the teasing way Ed thought she was using it.

 

“I was framed! That hardly counts,” Mustang said defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“Of course, Sir,” Hawkeye said smoothly though her tone told everyone she was really saying ‘if that’s what you want to believe’.

 

 _“It goes without saying that we need to meet her as well,”_ Red said and Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“Should I be making a list?” Ed asked sarcastically, making sure to keep the conversation telepathic this time.

 

 _“Probably would be a good idea,”_ Green told him and Ed shook his head fondly before focusing back on everyone else.

 

“Plus, you remember what our first meeting with the BAU was like. My first reaction was to make sure we didn’t get shot whereas yours was to ready an attack,” Ed said, joining in on the teasing.

 

“They were holding guns on us!” Mustang exclaimed defensively, scowling at Ed.

 

“We appeared out of literally nowhere. I would’ve been more surprised if their first reaction _wasn’t_ to hold weapons on us,” Ed snarked back.

 

“You questioned us about that, if I remember correctly,” Hotch said, watching the pair with amusement.

 

“I was actually genuinely curious if that was the way all strangers were greeted in your country,” Ed divulged. “Would’ve been handy to know if that would happen again if we didn’t stick with you lot.”

 

“That’s a fair question. We didn’t realise your countrymen were so on top of your border security so we didn’t expect to be detained when we arrived in Resembool,” Prentiss said conversationally.

 

“You guys got lucky,” Mustang told them. “While it wasn’t legal, it wasn’t unheard of for Amestrian soldiers to shoot Drachmans or any of our other neighbours countrymen on sight without checking to see if they had the legal papers required and without provocation. Very often, our late Fuhrer King Bradley wouldn’t do anything to punish the soldier involved either. Fuhrer Grumman has enforced our border security laws so anyone who does kill a foreign person will be held accountable unless it was proven to have been done in self-defence.” Mustang saw a couple of the BAU shift a little uncomfortably at the thought.

 

“Well, that got dark pretty quickly,” Winry said before hitting Ed on his automail arm. “You haven’t finished introducing me to everyone,” she complained as Ed rolled his eyes at her.

 

“You keep telling me not to damage my automail and then you go and hit it yourself. Hypocrite,” Ed said before remedying her complaint. “Winry, these are the rest of the BAU members who turned up in Amestris; Morgan, Hotch and Rossi and you know Reid already. Guys, this is Winry.” Ed’s introduction sounded slightly bored and rehearsed but Winry let it slide since she figured it had more to do with the fact that Ed had probably introduced them dozens of times the past week and less to do with her.

 

“Pleasure to meet you all,” Winry said as she extended her hand. She could’ve sworn she’d seen relief on some of the agents’ faces but it was gone too quickly for her to be sure.

 

“The pleasure is ours, Miss Rockbell,” Hotch said, retracting his hand once he’d shaken hers.

 

“Winry, please,” she said with a smile, ignoring Ed’s mutter of ‘now you have manners’ for the most part. She did shoot him a glare that promised retribution at a later date that had him look a little nervous, making her feel a lot better.

 

“Then the pleasure is ours, Winry,” Morgan amended with a grin that had Winry faintly blush and Ed roll his eyes as he went over to whisper something to Al, who nodded in response.

 

“I haven’t told them any embarrassing stories of you from our childhood but that will change if I find out you have when we get back,” Ed warned Winry as he and Al headed for the door. Den looked up expectantly from his spot on the veranda as they approached.

 

“Where are you two heading?” JJ asked. Al glanced at Ed before answering her.

 

“To visit our parents,” he told her before looking at Winry. “Would you mind telling Granny that we’ll be back on dark please?” Winry nodded.

 

“Don’t get yourselves into trouble and if you happen to see Mr. Stevens on your walk, can you remind him that he has a check-up with Granny in three days’ time? You know what his memory’s like these days,” Winry said and Al gave her a smile.

 

“Sure thing, Winry,” Al said agreeably. “Come on, Brother.” Al grabbed Ed’s automail arm to tug him forward.

 

“You do know I can walk by myself, right?” Ed snarked before looking at Den. “You gonna join us?” Den yapped excitedly as he clambered to his feet and joining the brothers at the bottom of the stairs. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours,” Ed said, looking back up to everyone in the house before he, Al and Den started down the driveway. 

* * *

 

There had always been an unspoken agreement between the brothers that neither would speak to the other unless it was important on the walk to their mother’s grave. The agreement had been upheld the few times that managed to visit both their parents graves after Hohenheim had passed away, shortly after Promised Day and only days after Al had awoken from his coma. In the initial days following Hohenheim’s funeral, the only thing Ed could think was that at least he had waited to die until after he said goodbye to Alphonse. He’d grieved violently over Hohenheim’s death in private and he was certain only Al knew exactly how violently he’d expressed his feelings over his death.

 

This rule was only broken if their old neighbours saw them on their walk to the graveyard and called out greetings. They did end up running into Mr. Stevens on their way and Al did as Winry had asked and reminded the old man about his appointment. He’d grumpily waved them off, muttering about his memory not being completely gone and that he knew how to take care of himself. Ed and Al had managed to hold their giggles in until they were around the next corner.

 

When they finally reached the graveyard – Ed now armed with wildflowers for their mother and Alphonse with a small bunch for their father – the first thing they did was clear any weeds or dirt off the two headstones. Naturally, they didn’t have to do much restoration for Hohenheim’s headstone since it hadn’t been exposed to the elements for as long as Trisha’s had been. Once both boys were happy with their efforts, they lay the flowers in front of the grave markers and started talking.

 

Well, Al started talking to both of their parents grave markers. Despite having had his violent, grief-filled outburst only weeks after Hohenheim’s funeral – something he’d been sorely tempted to miss by asking Mustang to order him on a bogus, incredibly important mission but he resisted only because of Al – Ed still hadn’t managed to forgive their father for abandoning them and their mother. Hohenheim’s actions during Promised Day had gone a long way to softening Ed’s hatred for him but there was only so much forgiveness Ed could give the man for those last few months after spending years despising the man and cursing his very name and that forgiveness was not enough to absolve him of his sins in his eldest son’s eyes.

 

Alphonse knew how Ed still felt about their father but he had long since given up trying to persuade Ed into forgiving him, even before Hohenheim’s death. It only led to massive arguments between the two of them and neither one liked being that mad at each other. Even though they hadn’t broached the subject during the walk, Al knew that if his brother joined him in talking to their parents, he would only talk to their mother. Al wouldn’t sigh or try and force him to talk to their father but that wouldn’t stop him from hoping that maybe one day, Ed would at least greet him.

 

Since they hadn’t visited Resembool – Ed’s day excursion to pick up the BAU excluded – since a week after Ed and Mustang’s second trip to America, the boys started telling Hohenheim and Trisha everything that had happened since then. Al had been surprised with how quickly it had taken Ed to join in on his story-telling but he didn’t dare comment on it, lest it stop. Ed laughed as Al described his panic then exasperation that Ed and Mustang had managed to get themselves in another dimension before Ed made Al laugh with his emphatic ‘imagine how I felt when I found myself in space and talking to mechanical Lion spaceships!’.

 

They finally started telling their parents headstones about the most recent events, backtracking a little to start with Chambers murder before the Voltron adventure before fast-forwarding to Bryce’s murder and going from there. Ed could feel the Lions as he spoke but they were distant and Ed realised pretty quickly that it was out of respect for him and Al and he sent them a silent thank you. Den lazed in between the two boys and ended up being used as a pillow by Ed, not even flinching as the blonde lay on him.

 

“and now we’re here to see the BAU agents off. It would’ve raised some awkward questions if some sharp-eyed soldier noted they hadn’t been seen physically leaving Central. At least in Resembool, we can honestly say they left the way they came,” Ed wrapped up their story, sitting up as he did so. A glance at Al told Ed that his brother had noticed the sun had nearly disappeared below the horizon and they would barely have enough time to get back to the Rockbell’s without being late.

 

“We have to go now, mum and dad, but we promise to try and come visit more than we have been,” Al swore as he reached forward and touched each of the headstones in front of him. Ed mimicked his moves, hesitating for a few moments before eventually letting himself lay a hand on the stone bearing Hohenheim’s name.

 

“See you later,” Ed said as he climbed to his feet, his right calf protesting as much as his nerves around his automail joint did. Al looked like he wanted to comment but stopped himself from doing so as he got to his own feet. Seeing the two boys were about to start leaving, Den clambered up and trotted over to the entrance to the graveyard before waiting for them, tongue lolling out of his mouth.

 

The three of them walked in silence until the graveyard was a good distance away before Alphonse decided to break the silence. “Brother, how are the BAU going to get home?” Ed gave him a look before answering.

 

“Same way they got here, Al. It’s not like there’s a train they can catch from here to America,” Ed said, a little bemused that Al would even ask.

 

“No, Brother, I meant _how_ are they going to get home? Is Truth going to take them in their sleep or will we have to use _that_ array?” Al asked, giving Ed an exasperated look at the fact that he would even have to clarify the question.

 

“Dunno, Al. Truth’s an arsehole so it could do either but it would need to tell either me, you or Mustang if one of us has to activate that array. We’ll know either way by tomorrow anyways,” Ed said, shrugging unconcernedly. “If we wake up and there’s no BAU on the cots Granny set up, we’ll know Truth kidnapped them in their sleep. If one of us has a creepy, humanoid-shaped static visit us in our sleep, we’ll know we have to organise somewhere to use that array since I don’t think Granny would appreciate us using the lounge room floor,” Ed told him and Al sighed.

 

“Sometimes I wish you weren’t so blunt with your thoughts of Truth. You never know if it’s listening to you!” Al said in a hushed tone.

 

“If it’s got nothing better to do with its time than eavesdrop on me, it deserves to hear what I really think of it,” Ed said. “Besides, I know you agree with me.”

 

“That’s not the point!” Al exclaimed hotly, making Ed laugh at his expense and Den to start yapping from excitement at the joyous atmosphere. Al managed to keep his offended look for a second before he joined in until they were both breathless from laughing.

 

“I can see why you always spoke of the BAU so highly when they came up in conversation. I’ll miss them when they leave,” Al said, breaking the silence that had once again reigned when they managed to curb their laughter.

 

“Yeah, so will I,” Ed said, his voice taking on a melancholic tone. “I wish you could’ve met Miss Penelope though. The two of you would’ve gotten on like crazy. That or she would’ve scared you,” Ed said with a bark of laughter as he tried to imagine how their meeting would actually go.

 

“Well, from what you’ve said about her, I would’ve certainly liked to have had the opportunity to see whether we’d get along or if she’d scare me off,” Al said and Ed hummed.

 

“She would’ve been bored over here though. She’s very techy so the only thing we have in Amestris that could’ve kept her entertained would’ve been my tablet. Plus, she would never have put up with Widdon and Combes’ behaviour and likely would’ve put herself and the team in hot water,” Ed suddenly grinned sharply, “though I would’ve loved to have seen her go up against those two idiots,” he laughed slightly.

 

“What are you planning on doing about them?” Al asked, changing the subject slightly and rolled his eyes when Edward gave him a questioning look. “I know what you’re like, Ed. The way those two were behaving this whole time, their desperation to see General Mustang in front of a firing squad; they were hiding something and they were scared he would eventually find out about it. I know you’ve been helping General Mustang and Fuhrer Grumman with their mission to weed out any of Wrath’s supporters and people who use their rank to get away with illegal things.” Ed sighed, scratching the back of his neck as he shrugged.

 

“I don’t know, Al. Despite my thoughts about those two generals and my stance on ranks, I truly couldn’t do anything because I’m only a lieutenant-colonel,” Ed’s mouth twisted at the mention of his new rank, still displeased at Mustang for keeping those papers even if they did come in handy, “so I would need Mustang or someone of equal rank to be the one to head any kind of investigation into them.”

 

“So, why don’t you ask General Mustang and see what his thoughts are?” Al asked and Ed shrugged his automail shoulder.

 

“I dunno, Al. He’ll probably say something about letting the dust settle first anyways. Make it so we start investigating when the generals aren’t on their toes. They’ll be walking on eggshells around Mustang for a while,” Ed said, sighing a little. They could see the Rockbell’s home in the far distance, barely visible in the dying rays of sunlight. Ed noted that most of the windows were lit up from the lights in each room and knew Granny would be getting ready to serve everyone dinner so, after nudging Al, they sped up a little. “I’ll talk to Mustang after I’ve seen Doc Evans about my neck,” Ed promised, knowing Al would’ve pestered him about it again at some stage if he didn’t.

 

“Alright, Brother,” Al said, sensing Ed really didn’t want to talk about the generals anymore right now. “So, what do you think of the new automail?” Al always asked about it when Winry wasn’t in earshot since Ed rarely said what he truly thought when their childhood friend was nearby. He knew that Ed knew that he told Winry what Ed told him about them as soon as he could but Ed never said anything about it.

 

“They’re good. She’s outdone herself this time, I reckon. They’re so much lighter than any of my old sets, including the cold-weather set she made me when we went to Fort Briggs the first time. Of course, I’ll have to test them in a spar against you or against the first idiot criminal we come across to see how they hold up against that kind of treatment but I have no doubts they’ll live up to my expectations,” Ed told him, bringing his automail arm up in front of him and watching his fingers open and close smoothly. “She told me she messed around with the formula for the steel she used so it should be less prone to rust than the average cold-weather set, which means she won’t screech at me when you tell her I didn’t immediately dry my automail after taking an unexpected dip in a river or lake,” Ed said, glaring venomlessly at a sheepish-looking Alphonse.

 

“I don’t want her blaming me when she finds rust in your automail during a check-up or replacement!” Al exclaimed and Ed’s glare heated up.

 

“So you throw me under the bus to protect yourself from that witch’s wrath? For shame, Alphonse. For shame,” Ed tsked, shaking his head as Al giggled at his dramatics.

 

“Like you never did the same thing when we were kids,” Al chuckled and Ed grinned.

  
“Yeah, true,” Ed agreed before laughing again when Den barked at them to hurry up. “We should hurry before Granny decides to not keep us any dinner,” Ed said, wincing as he remembered her doing that a couple of times after their mother had passed and they’d gotten back from Dublith but before the night of the failed transmutation.

 

“Yes, we certainly wouldn’t want you to miss out on your dinner. You might attack someone because of your hunger!” Al said cheekily, earning himself an automail fist to the shoulder, though Ed was nice enough to make sure it would barely bruise.

 

“That was one time!” Ed yelled as Al cackled maniacally at his reaction, dodging Ed’s follow-up punch he’d thrown because of Al’s laughter.

 

Den gave them up for lost causes and continued further up the path, tail wagging slowly as he found the driveway and headed up it, anxious for his own dinner. Ed and Al noticed they were being left behind and soon they were moving at a light jog, thanks to Ed’s stitched calf, until they were both walking next to Den once more. They continued exchanging teasing and snarky comments as they walked up the driveway, the pale dusk giving way to the night sky as they headed for lights glowing softly from their childhood home-away-from-home. 

* * *

 

“You boys are lucky,” Pinako said, taking a drag from her pipe. “Another few minutes and you wouldn’t have a place at the table.” Both boys were standing just inside the front door, taking off their shoes and coats.

 

“Sorry, Granny,” Al apologised before softly hitting Ed when he wasn’t immediately forthcoming with one of his own.

 

“What he said,” Ed muttered, glaring at Al as he rubbed the back of his head. “Have you put Den’s food out or do you want me to do that?” Ed asked, noting the sheepdog hadn’t left their side yet. Pinako saw his offer for what it really was.

 

“No, he hasn’t had his dinner yet,” she said, nodding in the direction she kept his dog biscuits. “Knock yourself out.”

 

“Come on, Den,” Ed said, ruffling the dog’s ears as he walked back out to the veranda. Den didn’t need any more convincing and following Ed, almost tripping him up in his haste to get to his bowl. “Settle down, you. It’s not like you’ve never been fed,” Ed chuckled as Den’s enthusiasm as he poured the appropriate amount of biscuits in his bowl, made him sit before giving him the green light and heading back inside to find everyone sitting in any space they could find, a plate of steaming food in front of them.

 

“Quickly, Brother, or it’ll all be gone!” Al called from where he sat on the floor in front of the couch.

 

Ed didn’t ignore his warning and made his way to the kitchen, weaving between the agents and Elysia as he went. His eyes were caught by Hawkeye’s cast. The captain had obviously given into Elysia’s pleads because the top two-thirds of the cast was no longer pristine white. The only reason the military would know anything about the not-quite regulation cast would be if Hawkeye took her navy-blue military uniform jacket off while on duty, which she never did so she wouldn’t get into trouble for it.

 

“Thanks for dinner, Granny,” Ed said as he was handed a plate of chicken parmigiana and vegetables by the old woman.

 

“You’re welcome, Ed. You’ll be helping clear up afterwards,” Pinako informed and Ed huffed, having expected that.

 

“Big brother Ed, come and sit next to me and mama,” Elysia ordered, jumping a little excitably on her spot on the floor in front of the chair Gracia was sitting on.

 

“What are you, my boss?” Ed grumbled good-naturedly as he did as she bade, making her giggle.

 

“We know she’s not your commanding officer because you wouldn’t listen to her if she was,” Mustang smirked.

 

“I’ll think you’ll find, Mustang, that it’s just you,” Ed snarked back, removing his sling and black jacket before joining Elysia on the floor. His flesh arm twinged slightly as it straightened out but he ignored it as he started digging into his dinner, just like he ignored the glare Mustang gave him in response to his quip.

 

“The agents mentioned something about you guys having a celebratory dinner last night. How was that?” Gracia asked when no one seemed to know how to break the silence with Elysia in the room.

 

“It was great. We went to that restaurant near the bookstore Al and I like. You know, the Cretan one?” Ed said and Gracia nodded.

 

“Oh, that one looks lovely. Was it good?” Gracia asked and Al nodded.

 

“Probably one of the better Cretan restaurants we’ve tried yet, hey, Ed?” Ed nodded in agreement with Al.

 

“Well, any Cretan restaurant is better than the one I tried in West City that one time,” Ed joked though he internally shuddered at the memory.

 

“That bad, huh?” Morgan asked and Ed realised he mustn’t have hidden his reaction as well as he’d though.

 

“Ed took one bite of his meal and tossed the rest out then headed to some hole-in-the-wall burger joint and bought food there,” Al told them. “He cussed out the Cretan restaurant the entire time he ate the burger,” he giggled as he told them.

 

“I stand by that burger being one of the best things I’ve ever eaten,” Ed told him, pointing a finger at him, smiling widely.

 

“I’m glad you guys had a good night,” Gracia said, smiling gently and sincerely.

 

“Yeah, it was a good night. Brookes and Miss Sheska joined us, as well and Mustang was nice enough to pick up the tab as a thank you,” Ed told her, grinning slightly as he heard Mustang’s faint mutter about his bank account.

 

“Oh, that was very sweet of you, Roy,” Gracia said, giving Mustang a proud smile, making it so Mustang couldn’t say anything about practically being coerced into covering with steep bill.

 

“It was nothing, Gracia,” Mustang said instead, giving her a smile of his own.

 

“I’m a little surprised you invited Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes along though,” Gracia admitted. She knew that none of them held a grudge against the lieutenant-colonel for doing his job and following the leads where they took him but she still thought it was a little odd they’d invite the man who arrested Mustang to the dinner celebrating his name being cleared.

 

“Holy crap, we never told you,” Ed said, realisation completely obvious.

 

“Wait, you never kept Gracia up to date with anything?” Mustang asked incredulously and Ed glared at him.

 

“I was too busy doing your job better than you and we were too busy trying to get you out of prison to remember to make a lot of social phone calls,” Ed snapped and Gracia lay a calming hand on Ed’s flesh shoulder.

 

“It’s alright, Ed, I knew you guys would’ve been far too busy to call us often with updates. We appreciated the couple of quick calls we did get,” Gracia said soothingly. “And this argument doesn’t answer my question,” she said pointedly, levelling Mustang with a reprimanding glare. To her smug satisfaction, Mustang had the decency to look a little sheepish.

 

“Brookes helped us out a lot. Gave us access to all the files before Grumman ordered the two knobhead generals to allow Brookes to turn it over. He helped with us going to the crime scenes so some of the agents could try and recreate them to get a sense of the criminal’s mind and he helped us with interviews and other stuff. In fact, he was there when we figured out the unsub’s identity and he made the arrest,” Ed told her, craning his neck a little to give her a smile. Gracia almost said something about the insult to the two generals but she remembered what Ed had told her about them raiding the office and their visit when he and Al had gone in to check on everyone and organise train tickets and he had censored himself for Elysia so she decided to leave it.

 

“Brookes helped you help Uncle Roy?” Elysia asked and Ed nodded.

 

“He sure did, El.” Elysia looked very thoughtful for a few moments before she scrambled to her feet then nearly faceplanted when she tripped over Ed’s leg. The only thing that saved her from such a fate was Ed’s quick reflexes. “Careful, El,” he admonished gently as he let go of the arm he’d managed to grab.

 

“Thanks, big brother,” Elysia smiled sheepishly as Gracia leaned over Ed slightly to fuss over her daughter.

 

“Where were you off to in such a hurry that you couldn’t look where you were going?” Gracia asked, letting herself sound slightly exasperated now that she was sure Elysia was alright.

 

“I’m going to draw Brookes a picture to thank him for helping Uncle Roy, mama,” Elysia said, beaming brightly. Gracia gave her a soft smile back before nodding.

 

“Alright, you can go and get you things,” Gracia said but Ed stopped Elysia from going anywhere for the moment.

 

The others watched in confusion as Ed beckoned Gracia down so he could whisper something in her ear. Their confusion grew when Gracia nodded, obviously giving him permission to do something. Ed drew the small child in and had a whispered conversation with her. None of them, save Gracia, could hear what Ed was saying but Elysia was looking more excited the longer he spoke to her. Their conversation ended when Ed put a finger to his lips, grinning behind it. Elysia mimicked him before giggling and heading up the stairs.

 

“That’ll keep her entertained long enough to give us time to fill in you guys about what happened,” Ed said the moment Elysia was out of earshot.

 

“What did you have her go do?” Mustang asked and Ed scowled at him, though everyone noted it wasn’t his normal scowl. This one was full of amusement and playfulness.

 

“Can’t tell you. It’s a secret,” Ed told him, grinning when Mustang returned his scowl, though the older alchemist’s scowl was certainly one of irritation. Gracia nudged his back with her leg gently.

 

“So, what happened?” She asked when Ed turned as much as his ribs would allow him to so he could see what she wanted.

 

“Well, once I left Granny’s after dropping you and Elysia off, I had the Lions silence our bond so I wouldn’t be distracted by them while we were working. I made it back to town when I promised McBride I would and he led me to the holding cells in town,” Ed told them before continuing to describe what happened after that.

 

He told them of his complete shock at seeing the agents in the cells before getting his wits about him enough to use his refined tracking array to make sure they were definitely who he thought they were. Once he was sure of their identities, Ed told the three women about how he had McBride release them and commandeered his interview room to try and figure out how they’d managed to get to Amestris and his initial horror when he heard it was Truth’s doing.

 

“We still don’t know exactly how it plans on taking them home,” Ed admitted.

 

“What do you mean, Ed?” JJ asked, looking confused. “Wouldn’t it just snatch us up the same way it did in America?”

 

“Maybe,” Ed said. “The thing about Truth is that it’s an arsehole. You cannot predict what it’ll do because it’s just as likely to turn around and do the opposite. It uses loopholes and has perfected the art of saying one thing but meaning another.” Ed paused for a moment before continuing. “The two times it has taken me, it did so while I was awake and aware of my surroundings but it changed the way I returned home both times. The first time, after Harding, it invaded my sleep and told me I had to use the array, remember?” The agents nodded. There was no way they were going to forget the massive eye opening in the floor or the dozens of pitch-black hands that appeared. “Well, it simply kidnapped me and Mustang when we’d fallen asleep on the Castle-ship after we completed the mission with Voltron. I couldn’t tell you which way it’ll use to take you guys back or if it’ll even use one of those methods. We just have to wait and see,” Ed said with a sigh.

 

“Once you found out Truth was the one who sent them, you obviously got them released into your custody. What happened after that?” Gracia pressed, trying to move the subject along since Elysia’s mission wouldn’t keep her upstairs all night.

 

“Yeah, I did. We headed for the hotel and camped there for the night,” Ed told them before launching into a recap about the train ride and meeting Brosh in the train station and realising that Armstrong waking up from the coma would likely give the generals what they needed to try and rush the trial. “We headed straight for Grumman’s office once we said bye to Brosh and located Browning,” Ed said.

 

“Who’s Browning?” Winry asked, not recognising the name.

 

“Oh, he’s a sergeant assigned to the military car pool. He was my driver quite a few times during this whole debacle,” Ed explained and Winry nodded before making impatient gestures for him to continue. He did do but not before he rolled his eyes at her. “We made it to Grumman’s office and Miss Samantha let me interrupt the meeting Grumman was having with Widdon and Combes.” Since neither Granny nor Winry reacted to their names, Ed assumed Gracia had told them about the office raid. “I personally think Miss Samantha wanted to cause some trouble for them,” Ed said, grinning slightly before recapping his conversation with Grumman and the two generals and the introduction of the BAU to Grumman.

 

“I’m honestly surprised to hear you were so mellow while in the generals presence, Ed,” Pinako admitted and Ed laughed.

 

“Yeah, I held back a bit since I didn’t want to give the generals any reason to force Grumman to not allow the BAU to help,” Ed told her.

 

“Good decision,” Pinako said, relighting her pipe and drawing in a breath as she relaxed. “What happened next?”

 

Ed told them about introducing the BAU to Mustang’s team and Alphonse. But after he finished telling them about that, Alphonse took over, telling everyone what had happened while Ed was in Resembool. Hawkeye then took over when Al was finished to tell everyone about the first day the BAU were in the office. Mustang was the only one who didn’t really speak, for the obvious reason that his stories would be mainly the same thing; he waited in his cell for any news from the teams.

 

Between Ed, Al, Hawkeye and the BAU, it didn’t them very long to get through the events of each day. Morgan poked fun at Reid for geeking out at the labs again before stuttering slightly when Al asked with fake hurt and confusion what was so bad about wanting to learn about things in the laboratory. Morgan hadn’t been impressed when he realised Al was having him on and pouted until it was his turn to talk again.

 

Rossi took point in talking about the interview with General Armstrong, though Ed was more than happy to be the one to repeat what she’d called Mustang, who had taken great offence to being called a ‘soft-hearted, flirtatious, egotistical womanizer’ but neither Hawkeye nor Gracia came to his defence about it. They continued talking through the different events and interviews that happened, Prentiss doing so with far more grumbling as she remembered the numerous painful interviews she and Havoc had conducted. Both Ed and Hawkeye spoke about the raid on Mustang’s house from their perspectives.

 

To his surprise, Ed learned he hadn’t been the only one worried about whether they would manage to clear Mustang’s name before the case went to trial. Even Alphonse and Hawkeye had admitted to harbouring their own doubts. Before he knew it, Hawkeye was telling them about the afternoon she and Al took Black Hayate for a walk and what had occurred on their way back to Central Command. Predictably, none of the women were happy when they heard that Alphonse had been knocked out or that Hawkeye had been kidnapped.

 

“I promise I’m fine! Seriously, Winry, the worst injury I got was the head wound and it’s healing up nicely! I’ll be going for a check up the same time Ed does for his neck wound.” Al tried valiantly to hold Winry back from checking him over herself with his reassuring words but you didn’t have to be Winry’s best friend to know she was half a second from launching out of her chair. Pinako beat her to it, though, and grasped Al’s chin to tilt his head to the side to look at the neatly stitched wound herself. Although both women had known from the phone calls the boys had made before Mustang was technically released, Ed and Al hadn’t told them the extent of their injuries so it was a surprise for them to learn about Al’s head wound.

 

“It looks fine. Winry, stop trying to attack the boy,” Pinako ordered, tapping Winry on the head with her pipe as she shuffled back to her lounge chair. “What happened after you blacked out, Al?” Pinako asked, puffing on her pipe once more as Winry settle back in her spot. The look she shot Al for not telling him right away made him gulp in fear.

 

“I was found and rushed to the hospital. Ed and the others were informed about what happened and when I woke up, Brother, Doctor Reid, Lieutenant Ross and Agent Jareau were in the room with me,” Al told her.

 

Sensing they weren’t satisfied with that explanation; Ed took that as his cue to fill in the blanks a little more so he did. He told them about getting the phone call and rushing to the hospital with Ross, JJ and Reid before finding Al’s doctor and getting the scope of his injuries. Once Evans had told him everything, Ed said he and the other went into Al’s room and waited for him wake up.

 

“Once he did, he told us everything that happened and we got the lead that broke open the case,” Ed told them.

 

“So, the killer was a woman?” Gracia asked, slightly stunned to hear that. Female serial killers in America might’ve been rare but they were practically non-existent in Amestris.

 

“They were,” Ed confirmed. “Now-former Major Leah Belmont. Using Miss Riza’s personal journals written by her father, Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Chambers journals and a list of soldiers appointed to ‘Major’ during the ceremony he held after Promised Day, we managed to uncover her name and identified her from the sketch Major Armstrong had drawn from Al’s description.” Ed was fully prepared to keep the retelling going from their but Gracia interrupted.

 

“What happened in between though? How did you get Riza’s personal journals and when did you realised Belmont was a soldier promoted to major during that ceremony?” Ed almost groaned. He’d not wanted to tell them about the in between stuff for a reason. Before he could say anything, Mustang spoke up.

 

“They visited me. Agent Jareau and Havoc were the ones who I told about the journals and after Fullmetal got the sketch from Major Armstrong and had visited Captain Hawkeye’s apartment with Doctor Reid, he and Agent Morgan paid me a visit. I recognised the person in the sketch as someone who Fuhrer Grumman promoted to the rank of major during the ceremony but I couldn’t recall her name. Fullmetal took that information and paid Fuhrer Grumman a visit,” Mustang informed her and Ed almost breathed a sigh of relief. He would admit he’d been worried that Hotch or one of the other agents, even Mustang himself, might tell the women about what happened when Ed had informed Mustang of Hawkeye’s kidnapping and he really didn’t think it needed to be continually brought up.

 

“Once we had her identity, we paid a visit to her commanding officer,” Hotch picked up the story. “While Prentiss, Falman and I were speaking with Colonel Rubio, Edward had our driver take him to Belmont’s listed address to use his tracking array to see if either Belmont or Hawkeye were inside. When he ascertained no one was, he joined us at Rubio’s home and we learned that in the days following Chambers body being found, Belmont had been acting out of character. Belmont had been about to ask her what was wrong but the day he decided to, Belmont had gone back to normal so he figured it had been an off week for her and left it. We also learnt that Belmont’s parents had had a place on the outskirts of Central that she now owned but he didn’t know the address.”

 

“Thankfully for us, Brookes had pulled Belmont’s father’s service records and had the address on hand so once we called from the military car pool, we got it straight away and left to see if Ed’s tracking array would pick anyone up and it did,” Prentiss continued on from Hotch smoothly. “We found both of them inside and booked it back to the base to get everyone else. Like Ed mentioned, Brookes joined us but he had his team on standby so they would be the ones who investigate the crime scene afterwards.”

 

“Forgive the interruption but why did you let Brookes arrest Belmont?” Winry asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“Figured it would be easiest if he did it. If Mustang’s team or I made the arrest, the generals could cry foul and say we set Belmont up to try and get Mustang out of jail, despite the fact that she was holding Miss Riza hostage, had attacked Alphonse and admitted to both of them that she had killed six people. The BAU didn’t have the jurisdiction to make the arrest so they couldn’t do it. By having Brookes arrest her, we basically made it so if the generals tried to say we were framing Belmont, they would be accusing Brookes of helping us and call all his previous arrests into question, including Mustang’s since Brookes was the one to actually arrest him,” Ed told her.

 

“If the generals tried to argue that it was only Belmont’s arrest that Brookes should be questioned for, they would be asked a ton of questions about why only that particular arrest which would lead to questions about why they didn’t want Mustang released if there was a ton of evidence supporting Belmont as the serial killer and only circumstantial evidence suggesting it was Mustang. It would become very awkward for the generals and they’d end up backing themselves into a corner.” Ed explained.  

 

“Of course, we were banking on them not questioning the arrest at all since it was their subordinate who made the arrest and their team who went through all of the evidence. We had plenty of witnesses to prove that me, Mustang’s team and the BAU only acted in a support capacity and that once Belmont was arrested, we never went back to the property and that none of the neighbours ever saw anyone other than Belmont and Miss Riza enter the house before we arrived, if any of them even noticed activity in the house to begin with.” Ed finished answering Winry’s question and the blonde looked impressed.

 

“I’m assuming arresting Belmont didn’t go as smoothly as you wanted, judging by your injuries, Ed,” Pinako said observationally and Ed joined the BAU’s responding laughter.

 

“Of course not. When do they ever?” Ed huffed. “No, she decided we had no right getting Miss Riza back _or_ to take her in for the murders, attempted murder and assaults we charged her with,” Ed told her. “We fought in the basement and I thought I had her subdued so I called Brookes down so he could cuff her but it turns out that she was playing possum and went to shoot Brookes. I got in the way and the fight moved to the backyard. Miss Riza shot her in the thigh and I kicked her in the same leg to knock her all the way down and she was arrested,” Ed said.

 

“So, why did she frame Roy?” Gracia asked the question she knew was on the Rockbells’ minds as well.

 

“She had a long-standing grudge against my father and General Mustang,” Hawkeye spoke up, surprising Ed who had been about to answer. “Several years ago, before General Mustang was tutored by my father, Belmont was taken on as an apprentice. I never met her as her apprenticeship started while I was holidaying at my grandparents and my father had expelled her before I was due to arrive home.”

 

“How come your father expelled her?” Winry asked before she could stop herself. Granny tsked at her but Hawkeye didn’t seem to mind the interruption.

 

“She became extremely volatile. My father invented flame alchemy but he would never tell his students the secrets to it unless he thought they were trustworthy enough. While under his tutelage, Belmont became exceedingly unstable at a rapid rate. By the end of her short apprenticeship, my father wrote that she had been screaming at him to teach her, that is was her right to be the next flame alchemist and that he had no right to refuse to teach her.” Hawkeye paused for a moment. “While I was in the hospital, one of her doctors was my attending. Now the only reason he told me this was because he wanted to know if I could verify her story,” Hawkeye informed them and Ed almost laughed at how nearly everyone had leant forward to hear what Hawkeye was about to say.

 

“Belmont has an old scar on her right shoulder that extends to her collarbone and partially her bicep. When her doctors inquired about it, since it wasn’t in her medical records, she claimed my father gave it to her after she was expelled. As I had never known my father to hurt someone for any reason, especially with his flame alchemy, I asked the doctor why he thought she was even telling him the truth about its origins and he told me it was because the scar had been in the shape of a human hand-print.” Hawkeye gave them a moment to absorb that. “I told him I couldn’t say either way whether she was telling the truth but it did get me thinking about it and I remembered something that had happened a couple of weeks after I arrived home.”

 

“I was asleep in my bedroom when I was awoken by the sounds of someone screaming in pain. By the time I joined my father in his study, there was no one there and he wasn’t hurt. When I asked what had happened, he told me he had caught someone trying to break in but he’d fought them and they had run away. He told me not to worry about it and to get some more sleep while he checked the house. I thought nothing of it and over time had forgotten the whole thing but now I wonder,” Hawkeye trailed off but Mustang picked it up for her.

 

“You wonder if Master Hawkeye had burned her for trying to steal the secrets to flame alchemy.” Hawkeye nodded, sighing a little.

 

“He was extraordinarily protective of his research, as you well know. I wouldn’t put it past him to have done something like that to keep it out of the wrong hands,” she said and Mustang found himself nodding in agreement.

 

“She blamed General Mustang for Berthold Hawkeye’s decision to expel her and deny her the knowledge she wanted. When she started thinking of ways to get to Captain Hawkeye so she could interrogate her for the secrets of flame alchemy that Belmont believed she had, she realised General Mustang needed to be out of the way. Killing him wasn’t an option since she wanted revenge against him so she did the next best thing; frame him for a series of serious, violent crimes so he would be behind bars and unable to search for Captain Hawkeye when word got to him about her kidnapping,” Al piped up when it seemed Hawkeye and Mustang had forgotten Gracia’s original question.

 

“Thank you, Alphonse,” Gracia said with a smile that Al returned.

 

The silence that followed in the moments after was broken by the sound of rapid footsteps from upstairs that were moving quickly to the staircase. Sure enough, Elysia emerged, rushing down the stairs as fast as she could while also being careful not to full down them or drop her burden. She plopped in front of Ed with a victorious grin and put her armful of papers on the ground.

 

“Mission was a success?” Ed asked as he leaned forward as much as his injuries permitted to see.

 

“Yup,” Elysia said excitedly as she spread the papers out for him to get a better look.

 

Ed twisted his legs so they were folded underneath and to the side of him before leaning on his automail arm and giving her colourful drawings the best serious look he could give them. “I think these are your best works yet, El,” he finally said, giving the young girl a big grin.

 

“You really think so?” Elysia asked. “Will they like them?” She whispered before Ed had a chance to do much more than nod in answer to her first question.

 

“I really do and I bet they will love them,” Ed said, giving Elysia’s arm a light, comforting squeeze, well aware of the attention the two of them had on them. “Why don’t you give them to them now? They might be leaving tonight,” Ed suggested and Elysia nodded before picking up seven pieces of paper and walking towards the BAU agents with slightly nervous purpose.

 

“These are for you,” Elysia said shyly. Although her back was to Ed, he could tell she was blushing slightly as she handed the picture to the person she had drawn them for. When she got to Hotch, she handed him two pictures. “The second one is for Miss Garcia,” Elysia told him, tapping the picture she was talking about. “Thank you for helping my big brothers help Uncle Roy,” she said with a massive smile on her face.

 

“Thank you very much, Elysia. This is a beautiful drawing,” Hotch said, giving the young girl a rare smile. The rest of the BAU were quick to follow with their own thanks and compliments. By the time Elysia returned to cuddle up to Ed’s left side, she was sporting a beaming smile nearly big enough to take up her whole face and tomato-red from the compliments she had gotten.

 

“This was the secret mission?” Gracia asked, leaning down to whisper to Ed, who nodded with a small smile as the agents made a slight show of making sure the others saw the drawings before putting them carefully in their bags so they wouldn’t forget them.

 

“Now, we did this with Mustang’s team last night, Ed and Hawkeye being the only exceptions, but we would really love it if we could get photos with everyone. Mainly so Garcia has photos of everyone, mainly ones of Ed and Mustang since we never took any either time they were in our dimension,” JJ explained, holding up her cell phone which, up until this point, had been switched off to preserve its battery since it didn’t work in Amestris.

 

“Also, we do need some way of proving our story when we tell our friends at NICS about where we’ve been,” Morgan told them with a slight grin.

 

“Yeah, I don’t think DiNozzo would be willing to accept that you guys ended up over here on your word alone. I’m fairly certain he really only completely believed our story when Al, Teacher and Major Armstrong managed to open the portal to bring us and Moore home,” Ed laughed and Morgan nodded in complete agreement.

 

“Abby would believe us with no problems,” Reid said. “I reckon she could’ve convinced DiNozzo.”

 

“I dunno, man. Abby, bless her, believes aliens exist – holy crap, we can prove to her that aliens exist,” Morgan exclaimed, looking at Ed hopefully. “Do you have your tablet?” He asked and Ed nodded. He always took it with him if no one was going to be in Gracia’s home, even overnight. He couldn’t risk someone breaking in and stealing it and not just because of its sentimental value. “Do you know if you can share files with other devices?”

 

“I don’t know,” Ed admitted. “I can ask Green to ask Pidge,” he offered and Morgan nodded for him to do so. “Did you hear the question?” Ed asked, focusing on Green’s bond than the bond as a whole.

 

 _“Yes, I’ve asked my pilot and she’s discussing the possibility with her father and brother,”_ Green answered and Ed mentally nodded, giving Morgan a gesture to remain patient. It didn’t take long for Green to get back to him. _“I’m sorry, cub, but they don’t think it’s possible. Not with how old their phones are and the way your tablet is built,”_ Green told him, voice sorrowful.

 

“That’s okay. Thanks for asking, Green.” Ed made sure to send warm feeling through their bond so she’d know he wasn’t angry at all about the answer. “No can do. Sorry, Morgan,” Ed said out loud and Morgan sighed.

 

“That’s alright. Figured that would be asking a bit too much,” Morgan chuckled. “Would been great to see DiNozzo’s face when we showed her the pictures though.” Ed laughed as he imagined that scenario.

 

“Yeah, I would’ve paid money to see that,” Ed chuckled. “You never know, I might wind up in your dimension again and I can show DiNozzo and Abby myself,” he joked, causing most of the BAU to grin at that image.

 

“Alright, let’s take these photos,” JJ said, standing up and getting ready to boss everyone around and holding her phone at the ready.

 

“Where’s your camera?” Elysia asked, looking at her with a puzzled expression.

 

“Oh, this is my camera, sweetie,” JJ told her, wiggling the phone a little but that made Elysia’s puzzled frown deepen a little.

 

“That doesn’t look like a camera. My papa’s camera was a lot bigger than that,” Elysia said. Gracia felt the familiar wash of sadness flow through her at the mention of Maes and a glance showed her that the other Amestrians felt it too.

 

“Remember what I said about their world, El? How all of their technology is better than ours? Well, they found a way to make cameras smaller so they would be easier to carry. Kind of like my tablet,” Ed explained and Elysia seemed to get what Ed was saying but she still didn’t look like she fully believed him.

 

“How about I prove it to you, hey?” JJ suggested and Elysia nodded. “Why don’t you, Ed and your mum give us a big smile?” JJ asked pointedly and the three didn’t dare refuse her orders. Ed shuffled back so he could lean against Gracia’s chair while Elysia sat in his lap. A moment after they smiled, JJ was walking over to Elysia and crouching next to the young girl and Edward. “Here, see?” She held the phone so all three could see the photo taken and Elysia squealed in delight as she saw the photo of the three of them looking back at her.

 

“Look, mumma, big brother! It’s us!” She exclaimed and both Ed and Gracia grinned at her exuberance.

 

“How amazing is that, honey?” Gracia asked with an excitement that almost rivalled Elysia’s, leaning down so she could kiss the young girl’s cheek. “How about we let JJ take photos of everyone else now though?” Gracia said, sensing Elysia might ask the blonde agent to take more photos of them.

 

“Can I see them after?” Elysia asked both women and both women nodded that she could, which made her extremely happy.

 

The next half an hour was spent with JJ directing people into pairs or groups so she could snap photos of them all. Prentiss took over so that JJ could get photos with her and the others, something the blonde agent had looked mildly shocked about when Prentiss made the suggestion. She’d confessed that she’d actually forgotten for a moment about getting photos of herself with everyone. Finally, they took one last photo as a whole group with JJ setting the timer on her camera up and joining them a moment before the picture was taken. She hadn’t allowed anyone to move until she’d checked the photo before declaring it perfect and letting them sit back in their spots. As promised, she let Elysia see every single photo taken before she switched her phone off and put it carefully back in her bag.

 

Ed caught Winry’s eye and made a silent gesture, asking if they could speak in private while JJ was entertaining Elysia. Winry rolled her eyes but nodded to the stairs and general direction of her workshop. Ed nodded in agreement and both headed upstairs, giving any who gave them questioning looks a reassuring smile but not actually answering them.

 

“Alright, what’s wrong?” Winry asked, eyes going straight to his automail with a slightly worried gleam, the moment they entered her workshop.

 

“Nothing’s wrong, don’t worry,” Ed assured her and she relaxed slightly. “Actually, I wanted to ask you a favour,” Ed admitted and she raised her brow in surprise. Ed hadn’t asked her for very many favours, knowing she would always collect.

 

“What do you need?” Winry asked, utterly unable to guess what he could actually be about to ask her.

 

“Do you have any scraps of metal – doesn’t matter what kind and I don’t need a lot – that I can use?” Ed asked and Winry felt herself pause for a moment. Now she was even more confused than before.

 

“Why?” She asked even as she went to her scrap-filled container to have a look for him.

 

“I’ve been thinking about what to give Miss Penelope, since I’ve already bought everyone else something as a memento for this trip, and I’ve just come up with an idea. I want to make her a small sculpture of Al’s armour.” Winry kept her surprise internal as she sifted through the scrap metal.

 

“Alright. How much to you need?” She asked and knew Ed was shrugging even without being able to see him.

 

“Maybe a piece as big as my palm? It doesn’t need to be heavy metal, just something strong enough to survive being moved or dropped,” Ed told her, relaxing against one of her benches as he watched her dig through the metal.

 

“Alright, see if this is good,” Winry said after pulling a piece a little bigger than Ed asked for and handing it over to him.

 

Ed accepted it with a smile before placing it on the bench and putting one of his hands on it. A moment of concentration later there was a flash of blue alchemic light. Winry averted her eyes from the bright light and when she looked back there was a perfect miniature replica of the armour Al’s soul had been bonded to for five years.

 

“What do you think?” Ed asked, picking the statue up and tossing it lightly to Winry for her to inspect.

 

She scrutinised it for a minute or so before tossing it back to Ed. “It looks just like the armour,” Winry said. “Why don’t you ever buy or make me any gifts?” She asked, pouting slightly as Ed pocketed the statue.

 

“How much are you charging me again for installing this new set of automail?” Ed asked, giving her a significant look and nodding when she didn’t answer right away. “That’s why.” Winry scowled but didn’t say anything since he may have had a point.

 

By silent agreement, they headed back down to the group and just in time to witness Gracia trying to coax Elysia to say good night to everyone as it was well past her bedtime and the five-year-old was growing increasingly fussy. After he’d put his arm back in the sling, Ed and Al stepped in to help a grateful Gracia and finally Elysia went around and gave everyone – including the BAU agents – a hug goodnight and followed her mother upstairs for a bath and to be tucked in.

 

“She went with far less fuss than Jack does,” Hotch commented, causing Rossi to snort with amusement. Mustang and Ed were still surprised every time Hotch brought up the fact he had a child.

 

“Alright, I’ll be heading to bed shortly as it’s been a long day,” Pinako announced as she clambered to her feet. “Let me show you where you’re all sleeping,” she said and ignoring their protests that they could find their beds themselves and Ed and Al’s protests that they could show them, she led them to the patients room. “It’ll be a bit of a squeeze but there is enough room for four of you to sleep in here. The other two will have to settle for the couch and spare mattress,” Pinako informed them. “Ed, Al, you’ll be in your old room and there’s an old cot in there for Mustang. Don’t bother arguing,” Pinako warned, glaring at Ed who had just been about to do that. “I’ll be sharing with Winry while you will be sharing my room with Gracia and Elysia, Riza, dear,” Pinako finished saying.

 

“Thank you, Pinako. We really appreciate you putting us all up for the night,” JJ said politely inly for Pinako to dismiss her thanks.

 

“It’s no problem, dear,” Pinako said, giving the BAU agent a smile. “I’m going to head up and see how Gracia is going with Elysia then go to bed, Winry,” Pinako told her granddaughter who nodded.

 

“Okay, Granny. I’ll make sure that I keep the noise down when I come up,” Winry told her and she gave a hum of acknowledgement.

 

“Well, if you lot aren’t here for breakfast, I’ll assume you went back home. Never thought that I would get to meet any of you but it was certainly a pleasure to do so. Good luck with everything in your futures,” Pinako said with a smile and nod.

 

“Thank you, Pinako. If we don’t see you in the morning, thank you once again for your hospitality and we wish you well as well,” Hotch said before the rest of the agents said something similar.

 

“Good night. Don’t stay up too late,” Pinako said to everyone though the last part was mainly to Edward, Alphonse and Winry.

 

“Night, Granny,” the three of them chorused while the adults offered their own goodnights and the elderly woman headed up the stairs.

 

“Come on, you two, we need to clear up everything from dinner before morning or Granny will murder us,” Winry said, grabbing Ed and Al by their arms and pulling them towards the kitchen. Ed was grateful she’d grabbed his automail arm because he reckoned it would’ve hurt his other arm, judging from Al’s expression.

 

“Geez, Winry, ease up, would you? We’re coming,” Ed said, tugging his arm out of her grip and giving her an irritated scowl. She didn’t bother to respond but she did let go of Al, who rubbed his bruised arm. Ed could hear someone behind them huff with laughter but he decided to be the bigger person and let it go as he followed the other two into the kitchen. 

* * *

 

Ed collapsed in his bed with a slight groan. After helping Al and Winry with the dishes, which had included an argument about what Ed could do with his injuries. Al had been against Ed doing much of anything while Winry told Al to stop being such a mother-hen before snapping at Ed when he agreed with her and went to lift something that needed both hands and calling him a masochistic idiot and lecturing him about taking better care of himself. Shaking his head at both of them, Ed started filling the sink with warm water and cleaning off the benches.

 

After Winry and Al had come to an agreement (Winry would wash, Al would dry and put away and Ed would wipe off the benches and table) it didn’t take long for them to finish in the kitchen and they were soon joining the others in the lounge room once more. Ed had used the opportunity to give Hotch the small statue of Al’s armour. The agent had promised to give it Garcia before he tucked it into his bag and the two of them joined in on the conversations going on until everyone decided to call it a night an hour or so later.

 

Al had refused to let Mustang camp on the old cot and he wouldn’t let Ed sleep on it either when Ed tried to convince him to take his bed when it was clear Al wasn’t going to let Mustang when the argument. Al had played dirty, agreeing to Ed’s offer to sleep in his bed before claiming the first shower. By the time Ed came back from his own shower, Alphonse was curled up in the cot and Ed’s bed was free. Mustang had raised his brows in amusement when Ed flipped off his brother’s back before he left to take his own shower. If he’d had the capability to think, Ed would’ve been surprised at how quickly he was able to drift off. 

* * *

 

_He really wished he could’ve been surprised when the next time he opened his eyes, his vision was assaulted by the all too familiar stark-white world of Truth’s. He was lying on the floor, the Gate of Knowledge to his right, looming eerily over him as he climbed to his feet. At least in Truth’s dimension he wasn’t injured so he relished being able to get to his feet without his injuries protesting the movement._

_“Alright, where are you and what the everliving fuck do you want with me now?” Ed asked a little wearily as he looked around himself and didn’t see Truth._

_“Hello, little alchemist,” Truth’s spine-chilling voice sounded behind him and he spun quickly so he was now facing the being._

_“Why am I here?” Ed asked and Truth giggled._

_“Straight to the point, I see,” Truth said, pointing at him with the arm Ed had sacrificed twice to save his brother. “You’re here because your American friends aren’t alchemists, of course!” Truth told him, inhuman grin stretching wider than Ed was comfortable with._

_“And what exactly does that mean?” Ed asked, crossing his arms in front of him._

_“Surely you must’ve figured it out by yourself! You_ are _a genius after all,” Truth teased and Ed supressed the urge to see if he could punch Truth in the face._

_“Pretend I haven’t,” Ed said. “Why am I here?” He asked once more and Truth sighed like its game had been ruined._

_“Your friends are not alchemists, which means they do not have a Gate of their own. I managed to bring them here because I needed them in this dimension,” Truth told him and Ed raised a brow before rolling his hand to make it continue. “Technically, it wouldn’t be the end of either world if they stayed in Amestris and since they have no Gate of their own, I don’t have to pull them back myself.” Ed suddenly had an idea of what it was saying and swore._

_“You really are a conniving bastard,” Ed glared as Truth’s grin nearly split its face in two._

_“Ah, I see you’ve nearly figured it out, little alchemist. I know you’ll get there if you put your mind to it,” Truth taunted and Ed barely resisted the urge to snarl at it._

_“You promised the agents a free trip back to their dimension if they completed the mission you brought them over for. That mission_ was _to get Mustang out of jail with his name cleared, wasn’t it?” Ed asked, a little unsure he’d been right in his assumption when he first spoke to the BAU in McBride’s office._

_“Oh, yes, that was the reason for their visit, have no fear, little alchemist. The group of you succeeded in that mission spectacularly,” Truth assured him and Ed managed to keep his shudder at the sound of Truth’s voice so sickly sweet internal. “And I did promise the agents that they wouldn’t have to pay a toll back to their world. That much is true,” Truth told him, grin getting wider as Ed finally caught on._

_“But since they’re not alchemists and have no Gate of their own and you’re an arsehole, you’re making it so that an alchemist has to open their Gate for them which means the alchemist needs to use the array for human transmutation and pay a toll for the agents safe passage,” Ed said, closing his eyes as Truth’s delighted laughter echoed in its dimension._

_“Well done, little alchemist! I told you that you’d get there eventually,” Truth praised mockingly and this time Ed didn’t contain his snarl._

_“You arsehole! I knew there had to be a catch! Why didn’t you just tell them this was the price?” Ed asked and Truth gave him a pitying look. Or the closest Truth could get to a pitying look._

_“Do you_ really _think your friends would have agreed to help if they knew the alchemist who sent them back would have to pay my toll?” Truth asked and Ed’s stomach sank. No, the BAU team never would have agreed to help if they knew._

_“So you tricked them?” Ed asked and Truth shrugged._

_“I did what I needed too to get the result that would guarantee the safety of Amestris and all the other countries on this planet,” Truth informed him coldly before its grin was back in place. “You have lots to discuss with your friends so I suggest you get started!” Truth said, waving to him as Ed’s vision went black._  

* * *

 

He awoke with a gasp and the Lions clamouring in his head. Al was beside him in an instant and Ed heard the sheets rustle across the room, indicating that Mustang was awake. Ed paid neither of them any attention as he focused on his heart rate and the Lions.

 

“Settle down, guys. I can’t make out what you’re saying when you’re all talking at once,” Ed whispered through the bond.

 

 _“We couldn’t sense you anymore, Ed!”_ Blue said frantically.

 

 _“What happened? Are you alright?”_ Black asked and Ed huffed an unamused breath of laughter.

 

“You’ll find out in a few minutes. I need to tell everyone else but I am alright, I promise,” Ed reassured them and they seemed pacified enough by his answer because they backed off and he breathed a sigh of relief and the pressure in his head lessened.

 

“Ed, are you alright? Was it another nightmare?” Al asked, keeping his voice hushed. Mustang didn’t say anything but he was watching the boys with sharp eyes.

 

“I’m fine and I wish it was a fucking nightmare,” Ed ground out before looking up at both of them. “We need to wake the BAU up. Truth just paid me a visit,” Ed told them, nudging Al aside and swinging himself out of bed. He pulled on a pair of sleeping pants, as did Al, while Mustang just waited by the door, having slept in something other than his boxers.

 

Ed led the way downstairs and was both surprised and pleased when JJ and Prentiss sat up immediately. Apparently, they hadn’t managed to fall asleep yet. Al whispered to Ed that he would go and get the other agents before moving to do just that.

 

“Ed, are you alright? Is everything okay?” Prentiss asked as she and JJ got to their feet.

 

“Yeah, I’m alright and something has happened but I want the others here before I tell you,” Ed told her, wincing apologetically but she didn’t seem upset by his refusal to share right away.

 

Al turned back up moments later, flicking on the lounge room switch and washing the room in light once more. The male BAU agents were following dutifully behind, Reid rubbing his eyes sleepily. Al waited until he joined his brother once more before he asked what had happened once more.

 

“Truth decided to pay me a visit while I was asleep,” Ed said and there was a collective gasp from everyone in front of him. “I knew your deal was too good to be true,” Ed joked though there was minimal amusement in his voice.

 

“Why? What did it say?” Hotch asked, unknowingly echoing Black in Ed’s head.

 

“It told you that if you did the job it required of you that you and your team wouldn’t need to pay a toll to go home,” Ed reminded them and the BAU agents nodded. “We were right about the job being you guys helping us clear Mustang’s name.”

 

“That’s a good thing though,” Reid said. “It means we get to go home, right?” He asked Ed uncertainly.

 

“Yeah, you guys get to go home but it’s not toll-free,” Ed said. “Because none of you are alchemists and because Truth doesn’t feel like just snatching you from here, an alchemist has to get you to Truth’s domain to send you through the Gate,” Ed said and saw Al and Mustang’s face pale.

 

“Please don’t tell me that-?” Al was cut off by Ed’s nod.

 

“Yeah,” Ed said before looking at the BAU again. “One of us has to open our Gate and pay the toll to get you home.” All of the BAU agents were shocked into silence before Morgan finally spoke and broke it.

 

“So, what do we do?” He asked and Ed raised a brow.

 

“What do you mean?” Ed asked and Morgan made a noise that could’ve been a huff of amusement.

 

“To get us home? We can’t ask you guys to pay any kind of toll for us. If Truth wanted us here, it can damn well stick to its word and send us home toll-free,” Morgan said and Ed shook his head.

 

“It _is_ sending you home toll-free. You don’t have to pay it. All it told you was that you wouldn’t have to pay a toll. It never said that toll wouldn’t be paid by someone else,” Ed said, smiling ruefully. “I told you; Truth is a sadistic arsehole who knows how to use loopholes,” Ed reminded them.

 

“We can’t ask you to pay some unknown price for us though!” JJ protested, backed up by everyone else.

 

“You don’t have a choice,” Ed told them. “Truth won’t take you back any other way and according to it, neither world would end if you stayed here and that isn’t an option,” Ed told them sternly.

 

“Fullmetal’s right. You have your own lives you need to get back to. Let us deal with Truth,” Mustang implored. “Between me and Fullmetal, we’ll be able to reach an agreement with it that will suit both parties,” he said confidently. The BAU didn’t look comfortable with the idea.

 

“Guys, you have families you need to get back to. Miss Penelope is waiting for you as well. You can’t stay here, no matter how much I wish you could. You _have_ to go back home and this is the only way you can do it,” Ed pleaded with them and he felt the Lions band behind him, giving him the strength he needed so he wouldn’t ask them to stay. He didn’t want to deal with Truth and he certainly didn’t want to say goodbye to his friends for what would probably be the last time but he couldn’t let them stay.

 

“Please let us do this,” Al asked, voice small and Ed could see the BAU’s resolve break.

 

“You shouldn’t be the ones to pay though,” Reid said, sounding close to tears and Ed gave him a sad smile.

 

“You aren’t alchemists. The person or people who activate the array are the ones who the toll is taken from. You literally can’t pay the toll. Only we can,” Ed told him and a tear rolled down Reid’s cheek.

 

“But it’s not fair,” he whimpered slightly and Morgan pulled him into a one-armed hug.

 

“Truth never is,” Ed said wryly.

 

“Everyone, go and get changed and get your bags.” Hotch looked like he was being forced to give the order and Ed felt a pang of guilt as he watched them do as Hotch said. He was forcing them to do this by giving them no ultimatum. There weren’t any false Philosopher’s Stones or alchemists in the other dimension to save them from a toll.

 

“It’s not your fault,” Mustang said as they waited in the living room, JJ and Prentiss having gone into the kitchen for privacy. Ed shook his head.

 

“Sure feels like it is.” Ed felt Al squeeze what remained of his right shoulder before leaving his hand there in a show of support. Ed sucked in a deep breath. “We can’t perform the transmutation in here. If I draw it for you, can you use flame alchemy to burn it into the ground outside? I can tear up the ground and destroy the array when we get back,” Ed asked Mustang, who merely nodded.

 

While Ed was looking in the living room for a scrap of paper and pen, the BAU agents slowly started rejoining them, dressed in the outfits they’d arrived in and bags slung over their shoulders. Ed finally found what he was looking for and placed the paper on the coffee table before sketching out the array he needed and handing it to Mustang. JJ and Prentiss were the last to join back up with the group.

 

“We’re doing this outside so we don’t make a mess in here,” Ed said. “Ready?”

 

“No,” Hotch answered honestly, mouth still turned down in displeasure at what was about to happen. “Let’s go,” he said, despite his first answer and his obvious reservations about the plan.

 

The group of nine made their way quietly out of the house. Den immediately perked up when he saw Ed and Al but both boys shushed him and told him to stay as they walked passed him. He gave a little whine but did as he was told, watching the humans as they moved to the area Ed and Al normally spared in whenever they were over.

 

“You’re up, Mustang,” Ed said, gesturing for everyone to get behind the flame alchemist.

 

Mustang pulled the piece of paper out, studied it carefully before pulling on one of his gloves and snapping. The fire burned bright for a few seconds before Mustang released it and both Ed and Al darted forward to check the array was completely correct. They couldn’t afford any kind of mistake and they knew it. Al looked at Ed, who looked back and both nodded in satisfaction.

 

“Al-“ Ed started saying.

 

“No, I’m going with you,” Al said, cutting off what Ed had been about to say.

 

“No, you’re not. You aren’t going anywhere near that dickwad if I can help it,” Ed told him. “Besides, you need to stay here in case the light wakes someone in the house up and they come out to investigate,” Ed told him but Al’s jaw had a stubborn set to it that told the older Elric this would turn into a massive argument.

 

“Alphonse, Fullmetal is right. Someone needs to stay here in case. You’re forgetting that Captain Hawkeye and Pinako both saw the array left on your basement floor. They’ll recognise this array and they will panic if no one is here to tell them what was going on,” Mustang told him, keeping his voice calm and rational.

 

“I don’t want you going by yourself, Ed,” Al pleaded and Mustang shook his head.

 

“He won’t be. I’m going with him.” His statement was met with two incredulous looks.

 

“Excuse me?” Ed said but was ignored as Al and Mustang seemed to come to a silent understanding because Al finally nodded.

 

“Alright, I’ll stay here but you two had better come back with no body parts missing,” Al said, tears gathering in his eyes but he didn’t let them fall. Al then turned to the BAU and gave them a big, watery smile. “It was amazing to meet all of you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us, not just this week but the last two times you saw my brother and General Mustang. I hope we’re able to see each other again but without all the drama,” Al said, offering his hand to the agents.

 

“Oh, Alphonse, it was such a pleasure meeting you! Make sure you keep yourself and Ed safe for us! We’ll miss you,” JJ said, using Al’s hand to pull him into a hug. Prentiss made it a group hug before Morgan was able to extract Al and shake his hand. Reid, Hotch and Rossi followed suit and all of them said goodbye to Al.

 

“Alright, you guys need to be in the middle of the array but be extremely careful not to mess it up,” Ed instructed, not wanting to prolong this anymore, and watched as the agents picked their way to the centre of the array with care. “Al, make sure you’re out of the way,” Ed said as he and Mustang followed the BAU so they were in the array as well. Al backed up obligingly, until he was nearly against the house.

 

“Ready, Fullmetal?” Mustang asked and Ed managed a scoff.

 

“More than you are,” he quipped reflexively as they both knelt and, one final look at Al later, placed their hands on the array. The resulting alchemic energy blinded everyone, forcing them all to close their eyes and when Al opened his back up, he found himself alone and looking at a slightly crackling array. 

* * *

 

“Welcome back, little alchemist and friends,” Truth said with a manic grin as it watched the humans pick themselves up from where they lay.

 

“Alright, let’s do this,” Ed said grumpily as he faced the being.

 

“That’s not very polite, Edward. Why not start with a simple ‘hello’?” Truth asked, feigning hurt.

 

“Because you’re a dick and I’m in a bad mood. What do you want as payment?” Ed asked bluntly and Truth hummed thoughtfully. The noise made everyone shiver as their spines crawled unpleasantly.

 

“Take the toll from us,” Hotch demanded and made to step forward but Ed blocked him with an automail arm.

 

“Ah, but didn’t Edward explain it to you? I can’t!” Truth said gleefully. “You aren’t alchemists so you need to rely on an alchemist’s Gate or my own Gate and I’m not willing to expend the energy it would take for me to send you back with no payment,” Truth told them and more than one agent snarled at it.

 

“You had no problem bringing us here!” Morgan snapped and Truth tutted at him.

 

“Yes, because I _needed_ to bring you here. I don’t need to send you back,” Truth said, grinning widely at them.

 

“Guys, we talked about this. You can’t do anything,” Ed murmured. The displeasure was evident on all of their faces but they did step back. “Let’s talk price,” Ed said, facing Truth. “First thing we need to know is whether you did anything to cover their absence in their world the past week or have their bosses and families thought they were missing the whole time?” Ed asked and Truth grinned.

 

“I never did anything. I believe the seventh member of their team has been working hard to provide them alibis for their absence,” Truth told them.

 

“Will they face any repercussions for their absences?” Ed asked and Truth seemed to pause as it thought about it.

 

“They certainly could,” Truth said and Ed sighed in irritation at the non-answer.

 

“In exchange for their safe passage back to their dimension and them not facing any kind of negative repercussion for them being missing, what do you want in payment from us?” Ed asked, gesturing to himself and Mustang.

 

“Well, now, that is the question, isn’t it?” Truth said before it contemplated its response. “I believe I could use a favour down the track from the both of you. You can’t refuse when I ask and I can cash it in whenever I wish. I will also be taking back the knowledge you gained when you were forced to commit human transmutation, Flame Alchemist,” Truth said. Ed didn’t get the chance to protest because Mustang nodded in agreement. “I believe that should be a fair payment. Do you accept the terms?” Truth asked, leaning forward in anticipation. Both Ed and Mustang exchanged a glance.

 

“I accept the conditions,” Mustang said and Ed echoed him.

 

“Excellent! I suggest you say your goodbyes quickly because there isn’t much time,” Truth said as the Gate started opening.

 

“Thank you,” Hotch said, grasping Mustang’s hand. “I don’t know if we’ll ever see you again but if we do, we’ll repay the both of you somehow.” Mustang’s hand was released and Hotch grabbed Ed’s.

 

“You don’t have to pay us back for this,” Ed told him. “Think of it is one last way to thank you for getting that lazy bastard out of jail so he couldn’t escape his paperwork,” Ed said, glancing at Mustang with a teasing smirk.

 

“Yes, I went out of my way to get arrested for multiple violent crimes to escape my paperwork. Very clever,” Mustang drawled as he shook Rossi’s hand.

 

“I wouldn’t put it past you. You did join me in space to avoid your paperwork, remember?” Ed said as he grabbed by Morgan for a hug. “Make sure you say hello to Miss Penelope for me and give her a hug from me as well. Tell her I’m sorry she couldn’t come with you guys,” Ed asked as Morgan pulled away from him.

 

“I will, blondie. You make sure you stay out of trouble,” Morgan said, ruffling Ed’s hair. Ed didn’t protest the treatment for once and was quickly pulled into a hug by Reid.

 

“Thank you, Reid,” Ed whispered before they pulled away from each other.

 

“What for?” Reid asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“Everything. For listening to me and for your help,” Ed said and Reid smiled.

 

“You would’ve done the same for me,” he said and Ed nodded in agreement but was prevented from saying anything more by JJ and Prentiss hauling him in for a group hug.

 

“You had better stay safe, Edward,” JJ said, squeezing him tightly, making Ed grateful that his injuries didn’t exist in Truth’s dimension.

 

“It was amazing seeing you again. Thank you for everything,” Prentiss said, squeezing him just as tightly.

 

“Thank you both for your help and for listening to me,” Ed said as he made sure to hug them just as tightly before he turned to say a proper goodbye to Rossi and Hotch. Mustang was immediately attacked by the two women. “Thank you both for everything,” Ed said, holding his hand out for Rossi to shake but was surprised when the older man hugged him instead.

 

“Don’t let Mustang boss you around too much, kid, and make sure you keep yourself and your brother safe,” Rossi said, letting go of Ed.

 

“Will do, Rossi,” Ed said, looking at Mustang to see if he’d heard. The scowl on his face suggested he had and Ed grinned.

 

“Try not to wind up in hospital any time soon and make sure you keep yourself healthy,” Hotch said, giving Ed’s flesh shoulder a friendly squeeze. “Thank you for paying the toll. I am sorry you had to,” Hotch apologised again but Ed shook his head.

 

“Don’t apologise. It wasn’t your fault,” Ed said, giving him a smile. Mustang was saying his final goodbye and soon enough, everyone had said goodbye to the two alchemists. “Hopefully we’ll see you again without any kind of crime involved,” Ed said, giving everyone the biggest smile he could manage as Mustang came to stand next to him.

 

“We can always hope,” Hotch said. The sight of the doors swinging open got their attention and Truth grinned.

 

“Time to go, agents,” it told them as the tiny black arms shot out of the opening and started grabbing at the agents. The two alchemists could see their initial apprehension about the hands but there was no shock, which wasn’t a surprise considering they’d had to deal with them when they arrived.

 

“See you later!” Ed called as Mustang waved until the doors closed and they were left in the dimension with only Truth as their company.

 

“It’s time for the two of you to leave, alchemists. I’ll see you when I call in your favours,” Truth cackled as the doors opened once more and the two alchemists found themselves being hauled forward by the hundreds of black hands that had re-emerged. Their vision went black before they were fully through the doors. 

* * *

 

Al was startled into a standing position when a second massive flash of light almost blinded him but this time when he opened his eyes, he saw his brother and Mustang lying on the ground rather than just the array.

 

“Brother! General! Are you both alright?” Al asked, fussing over them both the moment he reached them. He saw no blood pools and neither of them were groaning in pain so he assumed they were alright. “Wake up,” he said, shaking both forms in front of him and until they slowly complied.

 

“Al?” Ed asked as he got to his knees. Mustang was struggling to do the same.

 

“It’s me. What happened?” Al asked anxiously as he helped both of them to their feet.

 

Their dizziness quickly disappeared as they stood and Ed herded them out of the array before he placed a hand just outside of the outer-most circle and blue energy flashed once more. The earth beneath his fingers exploded as he tore it up, breaking the circle and making the array unusable. He lifted his hand before placing it done once more and when the light had cleared, Al and Mustang saw that Ed had flattened the earth once more so it was like it had been before but without the array burned into it.

 

“Did they get home alright? What price did you have to pay?” Al asked as Ed straightened up. The three were distracted by some lights being turned on in the house, indicating some of the other occupants were woken up.

 

“We’ll tell you everything that happened inside,” Ed said, ignoring Al’s grumble.

 

 _“I’m sorry you had to say goodbye to your friends again,”_ Blue said and Ed gave her a mental smile.

 

“Thanks, Blue. I just wish I had a way to communicate with them like I do you,” Ed said but shook himself free of those thoughts. “Come on, we’ve got some explaining to do,” Ed said to the two with him as he trudged towards the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to know what you all thought to this chapter :) so please leave a comment?


	30. Chapter 30

“Am I correct in assuming your friends have gone home?” Pinako asked the moment the three alchemists walked through the front door. Ed looked up to see her, Hawkeye, Winry and Gracia gathered in the lounge room, looking worried and relieved to see them.

 

“Yeah,” Ed said and Pinako nodded as she looked at JJ and Prentiss’ abandoned make-shift beds.

 

“Are you all okay?” Gracia asked, eyes flicking to see if she could see any new injuries on any of them.

 

“We’re all okay, Gracia,” Mustang assured her and she seemed mollified by that.

 

“You didn’t damage my brand new automail, did you?” Winry asked, taking a step forward as if she was about to investigate for herself. Ed rolled his eyes and huffed at her.

 

“No, _my_ automail is fine, you obsessed gearhead,” Ed snapped almost venomlessly at her.

 

“Alright,” Pinako said as she climbed to her feet, effectively halting any bickering between Winry and Ed before it could really start. “You lot can help pack away all of the bedding so I can have my lounge and patient room back then we’ll all head back to bed and discuss what happened when the sun is actually up,” Pinako said decisively.

 

As everyone was too tired to argue, they did as she said. Mustang and Hawkeye needed a little more instruction than anyone else since they hadn’t spent more than an afternoon in the house so they didn’t know where everything went. Between the seven of them, they managed to get everything packed up neatly in no time, even with Al trying to dictate what Ed was allowed to do.

 

“Try and get some sleep,” Pinako instructed once the last pillow had been put away. “I imagine there’ll be an excitable little girl waking everyone up in the morning now her brothers and uncle are here.” Gracia nodded in agreement, a soft smile on her face.

 

“I’ll try and talk her out of getting you to cook breakfast with her, Ed,” Gracia said, tone not optimistic but Ed just grinned.

 

“She can try,” Ed told her, tone challenging, and Gracia laughed at his mock seriousness.

 

“How about you take on the five-year-old later, Brother?” Al laughed, wrapping his hand around Ed’s automail elbow and leading him towards the stairs. “Goodnight, everyone,” Al said as Ed tried to escape his grip.

 

“Goodnight, boys,” Pinako bade them as they made it to the stairs without Ed getting free from Alphonse. “Mustang, if you wish, I can set you up on the couch for the night,” Pinako offered, addressing the older alchemist who had just taken a couple of steps to follow the brothers.

 

“Thank you, Pinako, but I wouldn’t want to put you out. I’m happy with the current arrangement,” Mustang assured her. Pinako didn’t look overly convinced but she didn’t push the matter as the adults joined the brothers on the stair case.

 

Ed had managed to escape Al’s grip and was sticking his tongue out at him before he realised they were holding everyone up. He flipped Winry off when she muttered something about them behaving like children and she lunged for him before anyone could stop her. Ed managed to dodge her attack by sacrificing Al and using him as a human body shield, causing the young Elric to yelp in fear as he suddenly faced with an enraged Winry.

 

“Behave,” Pinako growled warningly, causing the three to immediately stop their antics. Winry levelled Ed with a glare before she stalked past him and went into her room.

 

It didn’t take long for the rest of them to disperse. Simple nods or whispered ‘goodnights’ were exchanged as Pinako followed Winry and both Gracia and Hawkeye headed for their temporary room, leaving only the alchemists in the hallway. Both Elrics went to head into their room but Ed found himself stopped by Mustang grabbing his automail arm, just like Al had only moments previously.

 

“What?” Ed asked, yanking his arm out of Mustang’s grip. Alphonse had paused at the bedroom door to look back at them with confusion.

 

“Alphonse, if I may have a moment alone with your brother?” Mustang asked, ignoring Ed, much to the blonde’s and the Lions’ irritation.

 

“Don’t destroy Granny’s house, please.” Al gave Ed a slightly apologetic look before he disappeared into the room, closing the door firmly but softly behind him. Ed gave the door a betrayed look before turning to Mustang.

 

“What?” Ed repeated, tapping his foot impatiently. Mustang looked a little wrong-footed and uncomfortable, which made Ed’s annoyance melt into confusion.

 

 _“What’s wrong with him?”_ Red asked and Ed sent her a mental shrug. He didn’t know how Mustang thought on a good day.

 

“Look, Fullmetal, I just wanted to apologise,” Mustang finally said and that seemed to shock Ed rather than rid him of his confusion.

 

“What the fuck for?” Ed asked, voice betraying his confusion and Mustang gave him a look that told Ed that Mustang thought he should already know why.

 

“For barging in on you and Miss Rockbell earlier,” Mustang said and was rewarded with Ed’s eyes widening in slight surprise. “It was inappropriate of me to do so. I should have knocked rather than entering without permission. I’ll apologise to Miss Rockbell tomorrow as well but I wished to apologise to you tonight.” Mustang paused, like he wasn’t sure whether he should say what he was thinking. “I didn’t realise getting your automail connected was so painful,” Mustang said and Ed glared at him.

 

“All of my nerves have to be reconnected again to the limb. How does that not sound painful?” He asked snippily.

 

 _“Cub, I don’t think he’d judging you for being in pain. I think he genuinely didn’t realise it would hurt,”_ Black said calmly. That made Ed actually pause and take a good look at Mustang’s stricken face. It seemed that being in Resembool with no fear of anyone in the military finding out about his behaviour had Mustang lower his guard a little.

 

“Why can’t you be sedated beforehand? If you’re in that much pain when they get connected,” Mustang asked and Ed shrugged, shuffling where he stood a little.

 

“Same reason people aren’t put under anaesthetic when the automail surgery performed. The connection might hurt but it’s nothing on the surgery so it doesn’t really bother me anymore,” Ed told him nonchalantly, still feeling uncomfortable about this whole conversation. “Honestly, Mustang, I think you should be more sorry about the fact that you decided to barge into a teenage girl’s room without knocking. Imagine if the team found out about that,” Ed teased, trying to put an end to their talk. Mustang saw through him though.

 

“Fullmetal. Edward,” Mustang’s tone softened slightly with the use of his real name and Ed paused in his turn to the door, “I know you’re uncomfortable with people seeing you in pain or vulnerable in anyway and you’re about as comfortable having heart-to-heart talks with me as I am with pretty much everyone,” Ed had to huff a laugh at that, echoed by the Lions, and Mustang cracked a smile, “but I am sorry. I should’ve known that when you sent Elysia out to annoy Captain Hawkeye that you would’ve been doing something you didn’t want her seeing and I shouldn’t have done what I did. Like I said, I’ll apologise to Miss Rockbell in the morning – or whenever she’s free – but I wanted to apologise to you now,” Mustang said and Ed narrowed his eyes as the mention of Elysia and Hawkeye sparked something.

 

“Did Miss Riza put you up to this? Is this why she dragged you outside after you left Winry’s room?” Ed asked.

 

 _“He looks shifty,”_ Red said, a growl in her voice as the other Lions shushed her.

 

“No – well, yes, but no,” Mustang said ineloquently and Ed just stared at him until he figured out what he was trying to say. “Yes, Captain Hawkeye spoke to me outside because she suspected that I had interrupted your automail change but no, she didn’t make me agree to apologise to you or Miss Rockbell. She did say she hoped I would but I’d already been planning on apologising,” Mustang said, scratching the back of his head and looking very unsure about himself. If Ed hadn’t been so surprised by his behaviour, he would’ve been teasing him about it.

 

 _“Put him out of his misery, Ed. This is painful to watch,”_ Black said, though her voice had a vaguely amused tone to it.

 

“Well, thanks, Mustang. I suppose your last apology wasn’t a one-off occurrence,” Ed joked and saw Mustang’s lips twitch upwards slightly. “Don’t worry about it, Mustang. I imagine you learned your lesson about barging into rooms unannounced and I’m sure you won’t do it again, assuming you survive Winry’s wrench tomorrow,” Ed said and saw an interesting look of fear and disbelief that Winry would pull a wrench on him cross Mustang’s face. “Seriously, Mustang, it’s fine and you’re forgiven on my end.” Ed could’ve sworn he saw relief in Mustang’s eyes before the older man managed to remember himself and his professionalism was back in place.

 

“Thank you, Edward,” Mustang said and Ed, assuming the conversation was now over, went to go back into his bedroom. He managed to get his hand on the door knob when Mustang spoke again. “You were kidding about the team finding out about what I did, right?” Mustang didn’t think Ed’s answering chuckle was very comforting or informative as he followed the blonde into the room. 

* * *

 

Ed woke up to the sound of his bedroom door opening and someone small trying to sneak into his room, emphasis on ‘trying’. He feigned sleep, ignoring the Lions who had startled when he did, only sending them a reassuring message that he wasn’t about to be assassinated while he waited for the person to finish their ‘sneaky’ approach. Once he was certain they were right next to him, he opened his eyes. “What do you think you’re doing, Elysia?” He asked, making the young girl squeak in shock.

 

“Big brother! You scared me!” Elysia pouted and Ed laughed.

 

“And what were you about to do?” He asked and she grinned sheepishly before giggling when Ed poked her lightly in the side. “That’s what I thought,” he said, jabbing his finger into her side once more before stopping his attack. A look behind Elysia showed him that both Al and Mustang were gone and a glance at the lone clock in the room showed him it was a lot later than expected.

 

“Mama and big brother Al asked me to wake you up so you could have some brekkie!” Elysia said as she climbed up into his bed and lay down beside him.

 

“I see,” Ed said once she was settled. “You do know that for me to get up, you have to now as well?” Ed said amusedly.

 

“I know but I missed you lots and your bed is comfy,” Elysia said, peering up at him and Ed rolled his eyes at her attempt to look like Bambi (a reference he knew thanks to the Disney movies Pidge had uploaded to his tablet) and shook his head at her. That didn’t mean the Lions were immune.

 

 _“She’s adorable. How can you resist that face?”_ Yellow asked and Ed snorted in amusement.

 

“I’ve had years of practise thanks to Alphonse and Winry,” Ed told them but the Lions didn’t seem to understand how it was possible.

 

“Please, big brother?” Elysia pleaded and Ed felt himself ready to give in but steeled himself before her trap could work.

 

“You can stay here until I get back from the bathroom but then we’re going downstairs because I’m hungry,” Ed told her, climbing out of his bed, careful not to accidentally squish the five-year-old.

 

“Alright, big brother,” Elysia said, snuggling under his abandoned blankets and leeching the warm spot his body left. Ed rolled his eyes once more before heading for the bathroom.

 

 _“You almost gave in! You’re not as immune as you think you are,”_ Green chuckled slightly as Ed made it to the bathroom.

 

“I never said I was immune; I’ve just managed to build up a resistance,” Ed informed her but he felt like none of the Lions bought that completely. 

* * *

 

Once showered and changed into some spare clothes he kept permanently at Granny’s home, Ed headed back for his room and found Elysia right where she’d made herself at home. Shaking his head at her, he combed out his hair and plaited it back before securing it with a hair-tie. Once done, he headed over to the sleeping child and gently shook her shoulder.

 

“Come on, El, let’s go get some breakfast now,” Ed said as the little girl grumbled. Ed shook her shoulder again and Elysia finally blinked up at him. “Get outta my bed and get some food,” Ed ordered and Elysia yawned before complying.

 

 _“You’re so mean,”_ Blue informed him. _“She looked really peaceful.”_

 

“She slept all night and will likely nap later today or go to bed early tonight,” Ed told them. “She’ll be fine.” Ed said, shutting the bedroom door behind them only to have Elysia claim his automail hand immediately and cling to it as they made their way to the kitchen. They ran into Gracia at the bottom of the stairs, surprising all three of them.

 

“Oh, good. I was about to come up and see what the hold up was,” Gracia said, smiling softly at both of them.

 

“Well, _someone_ decided my bed was too comfy to get out of while I was in the shower,” Ed said, nudging Elysia gently, who giggled in response.

 

“She did miss you and Alphonse a lot while we were here so I’m not surprised she claimed your bed,” Gracia said, unknowingly repeating what Elysia had said earlier. “There’s still some breakfast left for the two of you.”

 

“Awesome. Thanks, Miss Gracia,” Ed said before squeezing Elysia’s hand to get her attention. “Are you coming with me to get breakfast?” He asked and she nodded. “Right, let’s go than!” Ed said, pulling Elysia along with him as she giggled while trying to keep up with his large steps. Gracia just shook her head at their antics as she followed them.

 

Mustang, Alphonse, Hawkeye, Winry and Granny were all in the kitchen, helping themselves to the last of their breakfasts. Granny had pulled out her old table and some old chairs in an effort to make sure there was enough room for everyone to eat. Ed helped Elysia into her seat and to get some breakfast before he served any up for himself.

 

“Thanks, Granny,” Ed said before he started eating.

 

“Thank you, Granny,” Elysia echoed, though she had a forkful of eggs in her mouth when she did so. She got an admonishing look from her mother and quickly swallowed her mouthful before repeating the sentiments followed by an apology.

 

“That’s alright, you two,” Granny said as she got busy clearing up the empty dishes. She settled back at the table once she’d finished her self-assigned work and waited until Ed had finished his mouthful before asking what she’d wanted to know. “What happened last night, Ed?”

 

“I got paid a visit by Truth,” he told them simply. “It told me that the agents wouldn’t be going home unless an alchemist let them use their Gate.” Winry gasped and Pinako looked shocked.

 

“You don’t mean?” Winry asked, not being able to actually finish voicing her question and Ed nodded.

 

“Yeah, we had to use _that_ array,” he confirmed, though his refusal to say what array was mainly because of Elysia. “Once I was awake, Mustang and Al followed me downstairs where we got all the BAU together and I told everyone what Truth told me; none of the agents would be going home without help from me or another alchemist.” Ed scowled, still pissed about that.

 

“Truth only promised the agents that they wouldn’t have to pay a toll but that didn’t mean it wasn’t expecting a toll to be paid. It was just expecting the alchemist who activated the array to be the one to pay it,” Ed told them and saw the angry and worried looks on the adult women’s faces.

 

“Well, since none you required my services last night, I’m assuming the toll wasn’t physical,” Pinako said and Mustang nodded.

 

“Only Fullmetal and I paid a toll. Alphonse didn’t go with us, just in case we were in need of your skillset,” Mustang said, dipping his head to Pinako. “Fullmetal and I owe Truth a favour each, which it can call in at anytime and it took back my ability to transmute without needing circle.” Hawkeye didn’t look impressed about that but she didn’t say anything.

 

“So, they’re definitely gone? The agents?” Winry asked and Ed nodded.

 

“Yeah, they’re back home,” Ed confirmed, slightly subdued but no one pointed it out.

 

“Well, I would’ve appreciated the opportunity to give them my gratitude once more but I’m just grateful that they were able to go home without the two of you paying a far larger price than you did,” Hawkeye said, clasping her hands together on the table.

 

“Will they come back to visit?” Elysia asked as she speared a piece of bacon.

 

“Probably not, El. You remember where I said they were from?” Ed asked and Elysia nodded. “Well, their world doesn’t have alchemy like ours does. Their visit was only because someone really powerful didn’t want your uncle in prison. Now that he isn’t, they went back home and they have no way of coming back,” Ed explained and Elysia frowned.

 

“Can’t we visit them?” Elysia asked and Al shook his head.

 

“To use the array we’d need to visit them, we would need lots and lots of alchemists to help us power it and we can’t ask anyone to help because we have to keep the agents world a secret, remember?” Alphonse said and Elysia nodded sadly.

 

“So, we won’t see them again?” She asked sadly and Gracia squeezed her hand.

 

“Probably not, sweetie,” she said, smiling apologetically at her daughter. “You must remember that you can’t tell anyone where the agents came from or how your big brother and uncle really met them, alright?” Gracia pressed and Elysia nodded.

 

“I know, mama,” she said, giving Gracia a big smile before busying herself with the breakfast that was left on her plate. Elysia’s acceptance of the reminder seemed to mark the end of the conversation about the agents disappearance – for the time being at least – and the rest of breakfast passed with easy chatter filling the cosy kitchen. 

* * *

 

Since Al thought he was too excited to see Mustang get his arse handed to him by Winry’s wrench, Al had volunteered Ed to accompany Hawkeye into town so they could collect the train tickets Hawkeye had booked for them and would need for tomorrow. Ed hadn’t appreciated his being unceremoniously shoved at Hawkeye when she asked whether someone would mind escorting her into town. The only thing that had stopped Ed from openly scowling at Alphonse – and wondering how the heck his brother even knew about Mustang’s plan to apologise to Winry – was the fact that Elysia was begging her mother, Hawkeye and Ed himself for permission to join them on their walk.

 

“You can take Den too. He needs the exercise,” Pinako said once Gracia and Hawkeye had given the little girl their blessing. Ed’s permission had always been given since he truly didn’t mind Elysia being around him all the time and never knocked back a chance to spend time with her unless he was in places she couldn’t be with him, like the Central library or on his missions.

 

 _“See? You really are a big softie,”_ Green cooed, like the little shit she was but Ed decided to be the bigger man and ignore her. _“You do know we stand twice as tall as you, right?”_ Green asked teasingly and this time, Ed mentally stuck his tongue out at her.

 

 _“Mature,”_ Black drawled and Ed just knew the Lions Paladins were laughing at their exchange from the feeling he got through the bond. _“You would be correct about that assumption, though, cub,”_ Black confirmed and Ed scoffed mentally.

 

“Tell your Paladins that they’re arseholes,” Ed instructed, semi-jokingly.

 

 _“Hunk isn’t laughing at you,”_ Yellow said in defence of her Paladin and Ed grinned slightly.

 

“Then tell him he’s my new favourite,” Ed said and felt Yellow’s preening on behalf of her pilot.

 

“Edward, are you ready to go?” Hawkeye’s voice broke him from the silent conversation he was having and he noted both her and Elysia were standing by the door, waiting on him.

 

“Sorry, yeah, let’s go,” Ed said, heading to join the two of them. “I forgot how distracting you lot are,” Ed mentally teased the Lions as he whistled for Den to follow. The collie dog did so with an exuberance Ed envied.

 

 _“You should learn to multitask,”_ Red said, completely unperturbed by Ed’s teasing. _“You know, like us.”_

 

“You lot have had thousands of years to learn to multitask!” Ed protested hotly and pouted when all the Lions did was laugh at him.

 

“What’s wrong, big brother?” Elysia asked, successfully drawing him out of his sulk and making him just barely hold back a jolt as he realised she was holding his automail hand. He hadn’t even noticed her doing so and gave her fingers a small squeeze.

 

“The Lions are teasing me,” Ed told her and she made a cross face as she glared at his forehead.

 

“Tell them I said they had to stop,” Elysia ordered and Ed caught Hawkeye’s lips twitching up in amusement at the five-year-old ordering 10,000+ year old Lions around.

 

“Did you lot hear that?” Ed asked out loud for Elysia’s benefit. “The boss has spoken.”

 

 _“It’s not fair using your adorable adopted sister against us, you know?”_ Blue whined.

 

 _“Yeah, that’s just playing dirty,”_ Red told him but Ed was certain he heard a note of respect in her voice.

 

“They’re backing off,” Ed told Elysia, who smiled widely at him. “You keep this attitude up and Mustang will be taking orders from you,” he said, knocking Elysia’s shoulder with their joint hands

 

“If it gets him to complete his paperwork on time, I’ll hire Elysia myself,” Hawkeye said, tone deceptively serious but Ed caught the glint in her eye that told him she was only joking. Mostly.

 

The rest of the walk was spent with Elysia chattering to both Hawkeye and Ed about a multitude of subjects, such as what she did while she was at Pinako’s, what she saw during the walk with them and what she wanted to help her mum cook when everyone came over for the big celebration feast for Mustang. Den entertained himself by following every scent he found interesting, though he was always sure to never leave Ed’s eyesight, as he had been trained to do.

 

“Den, heel,” Ed called once they entered the town and the collie dog did as instructed so he wouldn’t be in anyone’s way. “Train station is this way,” Ed said, gesturing with his automail in the direction he meant. Though she already knew that, Hawkeye just nodded and allowed Ed to lead.

 

Since there were no trains in the station, there wasn’t a big crowd of people to deal with. Den and Elysia stuck close to Ed and Hawkeye though, just in case. The small group approached the ticket desk and the middle-aged man behind it perked up immediately at the sight of customers and a small reprieve from his boredom.

 

“How can I help you?” He – Dennis, according to his name tag – asked, eyes flicking between Ed and Hawkeye.

 

“I would like to pick up the six tickets booked under Brigadier-General Mustang’s name for the first train to Central that leaves tomorrow,” Hawkeye told him. The man nodded and got the tickets ready for her.

 

“The train leaves at 7:00am tomorrow morning. Boarding will begin at 6:45am,” Dennis told her as he handed the tickets over inside an envelope.

 

“Excellent. Thank you,” Hawkeye said as she pocketed the envelope.

 

“Have a good day,” he bade them with a practised smile that Elysia returned in spades.

 

“You too, Mister!” She said enthusiastically before Ed and Hawkeye could offer their own polite well-wishes to the ticket-booth employee. Ed and Hawkeye simply chose to nod to the man, who looked slightly surprised and a little envious at the level of energy Elysia had displayed. Ed didn’t blame him, if he was being honest.

 

“Come on, Den. Let’s head back,” Ed said to the dog as they left the station and Den fell in step with them, tongue lolling happily out as he limped along and checked out his surroundings. “Granny didn’t ask us to get anything, did she?” Ed asked suddenly but Hawkeye shook her head.

 

“No, no requests were made,” she told him and Ed sighed in relief. After the near week with the agents, his bank account would be grateful for the small break. At least until Winry gave him his bill for the recent automail installations.

 

Once again, their walk was in comfortable silence, only broken by Elysia finding something or Den’s yapping whenever something like a squirrel caught his eye. Ed did have to go and investigate when Den started really barking and growling at something, a behaviour that meant he had spotted something potentially dangerous or unknown to him but it turned out to be a very startled lizard that had taken the opportunity the warm day had presented to bask on a sun-soaked rock.

 

“Den, you’re an idiot,” Ed told him, ruffling his ears playfully. “Come on, you mighty warrior. We still gotta get back,” Ed said and after a final warning growl at the lizard, Den followed Ed back to the road where Elysia and Hawkeye had been instructed to wait. “Lizard,” Ed said simply and Hawkeye relaxed before leading Elysia up the road once more.

 

“Ed, I just wanted to thank you,” Hawkeye said, startling Ed as there had been no chatter in the few minutes since the lizard incident. Elysia and Den were a few metres up ahead, Elysia picking wildflowers from the side of the road.

 

“Uh, what for?” Ed asked and Hawkeye glanced at him before focusing her eyes forward again.

 

“For finding me so quickly after Belmont kidnapped me,” she said simply. “I’m aware of how much pressure was on you, with your worry for Alphonse, myself and clearing the general’s name. Not to mention that I am aware that you were likely berating yourself as well, after what General Mustang said to you. But despite all of that, you managed to find and rescue me within a day and a half of my kidnapping so thank you.”

 

“You don’t have to thank me for that, Miss Riza. Even if I’d been ordered by Grumman to not look for you, I would’ve anyways. Besides,” Ed said with a half-grin, “after the amount of times you guys have had to rescue me from kidnappers, I think I owed you this one.” Hawkeye chuckled at that.

 

“Yes, you do have an extraordinary talent for getting yourself kidnapped,” Hawkeye agreed, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t owe you a thanks. You saw how unstable Belmont was when you managed to get me out of her grasp and ruin her plans. Can you imagine how long her patience would’ve lasted with me refusing to give her the answers she wanted?” Ed knew it was a rhetorical question but he still shuddered at the thought. “The fact that you managed to figure out Belmont’s identity while under enough pressure that almost anyone else would’ve caved under is truly awe-inspiring. Please accept my thanks?” Hawkeye asked, turning to face Ed while keeping Elysia in sight.

 

“Alright, Miss Riza. You’re welcome and I am really glad that we managed to find you so quickly,” Ed said with a genuine smile.

 

Hawkeye hesitated for a moment before coming to a decision and Ed almost squawked when Hawkeye pulled into a hug without warning. She made sure to avoid his injuries but held onto him as tight as she dared and soon Ed found himself returning the hug as best he could with only one arm. Neither of them said anything more to each other, just letting their actions speak for themselves. Ed was about to pull away when a small force slammed into his side and the slightly surprised gasp told him the force had hit Hawkeye too.

 

“Group hug!” Elysia squealed, wrapping her small arms around the both of them as best she could and neither could say no to the little girl so they included her in the hug. Only Den’s yaps drew them out of their moment and both adults managed to extract themselves from Elysia, though she did take one of their hands in each of hers, crushing the small bouquet of flowers she held in between her hand and Hawkeye’s.

 

“Who are the flowers for, El?” Ed asked as they started walking once more.

 

“They’re for mama!” She told him, sounding excited to get them to Gracia.

 

“Well, I suggest we get them to Miss Gracia as quickly as possible, huh?” Ed said and Elysia nodded in vehement agreement. “Come on then, let’s get going.” Elysia’s agreement was joined by Den’s excited yap and Ed rolled his eyes at the dog before following the two enthusiastic members of their group with Hawkeye close beside him. 

* * *

 

“Did Mustang get knocked out?” Ed asked the moment he spotted his brother on the veranda, obviously waiting for their return. Hawkeye gave Ed a reprimanding glare but didn’t say anything as she led Elysia into the house.

 

“No, he didn’t, Brother. Winry was very gracious and accepted the apology with no threat of violence,” Al told him, giving Ed an unimpressed look when the older Elric pouted at the news.

 

“Well, that’s not fair.” Al wondered if Ed had to stop himself from stamping his foot as he whined.

 

“I’m sure you’ll live, Brother,” Al said dryly. “How’d you go in town?”

 

“Yeah, got the tickets with no hassles. Den found a lizard and thought it was a serial killer in disguise so he went off at it. Other than that, completely uneventful,” Ed reported back as he finally joined Al on the veranda. Den headed for his water dish to take a well-earned drink of water.

 

“He’s just doing his job,” Al said, defending the black and white dog.

 

“It was a lizard!” Ed exclaimed, causing Al to cackle at Ed’s indignation.

 

“So, what’s the plan for the rest of the day?” Al asked and Ed shrugged his good shoulder.

 

“Dunno. We have to get to the station by 6:45 tomorrow morning so we’ll probably leave here at 6:00am so we’re there on time,” Ed told him. “I can’t spar because I already know you’ll say no if I ask and there’s no one else good enough to go up against around here.” Al nodded in agreement to both points.

 

“That’s true. We could see if Granny still has some books around here and read those,” Al suggested and Ed sighed.

 

“It’s better than being bored, I suppose,” Ed moaned, leading the way to the front door only to be stopped when Mustang blocked his path.

 

“Good. You’re both still here,” Mustang said, stepping through the front door to join them on the veranda, flanked by Hawkeye. “I was hoping to talk to the both of you.” 

* * *

 

Mustang hadn’t planned to wait for Edward to leave the house before he spoke to Winry. In fact, until his captain had asked for an escort and Al had all but shoved Ed at her, Mustang hadn’t even known Edward would be out of the house. But he did leave the house and Mustang, ever the gracious guest, offered to help Gracia and the elder Rockbell woman clean up after the breakfast spread. They’d accepted the help readily and both Winry and Alphonse had escaped before they could be asked to help as well.

 

Once the breakfast dishes were mostly taken care of, the two women had kicked Mustang out of the kitchen, claiming they didn’t need his help anymore and he could make himself useful somewhere else. He left before they changed their mind, having forgotten how tedious housework was. He didn’t have any plans to speak to Winry right away but found himself in front of her door before he knew it so he knocked.

 

“Yeah?” Winry called from inside the room and Mustang entered. Both Winry and Al looked mildly surprised to see Mustang come through the door though Al didn’t look as surprised as Winry, telling Mustang he’d known this visit would happen.

 

“Is something the matter, General Mustang?” Al asked but Mustang knew Al knew nothing has happened.

 

“No, Alphonse. I merely wished to speak with Miss Rockbell about something,” Mustang told him and Al made to stand. “You can stay if you wish. I believe you know why I’m here anyway,” Mustang said, brow raised and Al nodded.

 

“Despite your efforts, your conversation with Ed wasn’t as quiet as you thought it was,” Al told him with an apologetic smile.

 

“What are the two of you talking about?” Winry asked and her tone reminded Mustang of Ed just before he lost his patience. Mustang could see Winry was working on an automail limb and figured that he should get to the point before she really does lose her patience. He had no desire to see if she would remind him of Ed in that aspect as well.

 

“Miss Rockbell, I wished to apologise for my ill-mannered actions yesterday afternoon. I should not have entered your workshop or room without permission, especially when you had a patient, like I did. It was disrespectful of me to do so and I hope you accept my sincerest apologies,” Mustang said, dipping into a slight bow. When he straightened back up a moment later, Winry looked far more surprised than she had before.

 

“Uh, thanks?” She said, looking at Al like she wasn’t entirely certain how to proceed. Al looked like he was trying to hide his amusement at her unsureness. “Just, you know, knock next time so it doesn’t happen again,” Winry said, giving him a small smile before turning back to her work.

 

“Don’t worry, Miss Rockbell, I have learnt that lesson well and truly,” Mustang said sincerely. Despite Ed’s warnings, Mustang hadn’t seen her produce a wrench in a threatening manner yet.

 

“Awesome,” was all Winry said in response as she grabbed a spanner to fix something on the limb in front of her.

 

“Was there anything else, General?” Al asked when Mustang didn’t leave immediately. Al’s question got Winry’s attention once more and she looked at Mustang curiously.

 

“Actually, yes. There is something I’d like to know,” Mustang said, nodding to Winry. “Is there anything I should be doing to make sure Fullmetal looks after his automail correctly?” He asked and couldn’t keep the smirk completely off his face when both of them looked surprised.

 

“You want automail maintenance advice for Ed?” Winry asked, voice drenched in disbelief and Mustang didn’t blame her.

 

He’d known Ed for nearly seven years and had him under his employ for nearly six years. For those six years, Ed had had automail limbs and Mustang had never once asked anyone for automail maintenance advice before. He’d never even spared a thought to the upkeep of automail but after seeing how painful it was for Ed to get new limbs fitted and realising that he averaged two sets of automail a year with his reckless behaviour, though there was that one memorable year where he’d been forced to visit Winry no less than six times for his automail, Mustang wanted to know if there was any way he could try and lessen those visits.

 

“Please,” was all Mustang said in response and Winry and Al shared a look before Winry turned to Mustang.

 

“There isn’t much you can do since Ed usually wrecks my beautiful automail while he’d being a reckless idiot out on missions and you’re not with him,” Winry growled darkly at the memories of Ed coming home with his automail in various stages of damage, “but you can start by asking if he’s sure there’s no damage to it when he gives you a report.” Mustang nodded in understanding and Winry continued. “Alphonse already knows all of this and I know he actually forces Ed to keep up with his maintenance but it wouldn’t hurt to have you nagging him as well.”

 

“What can I do?” Mustang asked, giving her his full attention.

 

“Ed needs to make sure he oils his automail every week. Twice a month at the very least or he risks the gears and joints seizing. It needs to be completely dried out after he goes for a shower or gets it wet in anyway or else it’ll rust. This new set won’t have that problem, hopefully, so he can be a bit slack about how quickly he dries the limbs out if he has to be,” Winry told him. “As I said before, asking him if there’s definitely no nerve or connector damage to the limbs after a mission would be good. Maybe try not sending him after criminals who try to beat him by destroying my precious automail? That would be very helpful,” Winry said, glaring at Mustang.

 

“Winry, you know those are the kinds of missions Brother prefers. He hates the ones where all he does is check on research alchemists or where he has to act as a mediator,” Alphonse chided gently and Winry huffed but didn’t argue.

 

“Other than that, you can make sure I’m called immediately if Ed winds up in hospital again with obvious automail damage. That way he’s not stuck in hospital with unfunctional limbs longer than necessary,” Winry told him and Mustang nodded.

 

“Thank you, Miss Rockbell. I will take your advice on board and try to follow it as much as I can,” Mustang promised her. “I’ll leave the two of you be. Thank you once more, Miss Rockbell, and I apologise once again for my behaviour yesterday,” Mustang said, bowing slightly before leaving the room before either teenager could say anything in response.

 

He headed back downstairs and found Pinako and Gracia sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in front of them. After being told there was still plenty of hot water left if he wanted a hot drink, Mustang took them up on the offer and got himself a coffee to try and fight off any lingering tiredness left over from the previous night. Gracia was the one to start asking questions about what happened in more detail last night and Mustang was happy enough to give her the answers she wanted to know.

 

“Where are you off to, Alphonse?” Pinako’s question jolted Mustang and he turned slightly to see Al heading for the front door. A quick look at the clock told him that he’s been talking for nearly half an hour.

 

“Brother, Captain Hawkeye and Elysia should be back soon. I’m going to wait for them on the front veranda,” Al explained. Pinako nodded once and Al disappeared through the front door.

 

“What happened after that, Roy?” Gracia asked, drawing Mustang back into their conversation and he picked up from where he’d left off. He continued talking until he heard Al talking to someone and excused himself with an apologetic smile to Gracia before heading for the front door, only to be stopped by his captain and god-child.

 

“Hello, Uncle Roy! I got mummy flowers!” Elysia greeted, thrusting a slightly damaged bouquet of flowers up at him for him to look at.

 

“They’re lovely, Elysia. You did a wonderful job at picking the prettiest flowers. I’m sure your mother will love them,” Mustang said, giving the girl a big smile and ruffling her hair.

 

“Thank you, Uncle Roy,” Elysia beamed before heading to the kitchen.

 

“Everything sorted for tomorrow, Captain?” Mustang asked and Hawkeye nodded.

 

“The train will leave at 7:00am and we are required to be there fifteen minutes beforehand, General Mustang,” Hawkeye told him and Mustang nodded.

 

“Thank you for booking and collecting the tickets,” Mustang said and Hawkeye mimicked his nod.

 

“Of course, Sir,” Hawkeye said. “Is there something else you require?” She asked but Mustang shook his head.

 

“No, thank you, Captain Hawkeye, but that is all. I do need to go and speak with the Elric brothers if you wished to join me,” he told her. She looked a little surprised and intrigued so when he resumed his journey for the front door, he wasn’t surprised that she followed him. They almost bumped into Edward at the front door. “Good, you’re both still here. I wanted to talk to you,” Mustang said. Edward narrowed his eyes in suspicion but Alphonse just smiled.

 

“There’s an outdoor setting just over there if you wanted to sit,” Al said, pointing in the direction of a small table surrounded by four chairs.

 

“Thank you, Alphonse,” Mustang said, beelining for the chairs and claiming one of them. Hawkeye followed his lead, as did Alphonse and Edward, though the older blonde did seem to do so with some hesitance. Pinako’s dog joined the two brothers, settling down in between them and receiving pats on the head from both boys.

 

“Alright, what do you want?” Ed asked, leaning back in his chair before grumbling and adjusting the sling he was still wearing. Ed thought he saw a flash of guilt in Mustang’s eyes but it was gone before he could be certain.

 

“I wanted to take the chance to thank the both of you,” Mustang said simply and almost laughed when the three of them looked shocked, though Hawkeye was quick to cover hers up.

 

“Why?” Al asked, looking at Ed confused. Ed didn’t answer, just shrugged since he didn’t have any idea either.

 

“I don’t know if you know this, Edward, but I’ve held a lot of regret and guilt for offering you your State Alchemy position with the military,” Mustang said and Ed’s brows furrowed even deeper as his confusion grew. “I’ll also admit that if I had the chance to go back to the moment I offered you the job, I would still offer it to you because of what you were able to uncover and help us achieve thanks to your position but that doesn’t mean I don’t have any guilt over offering it to you when you were 12,” Mustang told him.

 

“You’re forgiven?” Ed said, though it came out more as a question than a statement and caused Mustang to smile ruefully.

 

“I’m not telling you this so you’ll forgive me, though it is appreciated,” Mustang said. “I’m telling you this so I can thank you.” A glance at Hawkeye told the boys that she wasn’t entirely sure where Mustang was going with this either. “I know that I haven’t been the greatest commanding officer, especially during the first few years of your employment. I know that maybe if you’d been given the chance to get to know some of the other commanders, you might have been willing to serve under someone else, but I am glad you never left my team for someone like Archer.” Ed and Al decided not to point out that there was no way either of them would’ve let Ed move to the creepy lieutenant-colonel’s command.

 

“I also know that I’ve tested your patience with how far I could push you and I know how close I’ve come to finding even your limit, Alphonse,” Mustang said, nodding to the younger boy. “I know that you would’ve been a lot happier and had fewer hospital admissions had you been placed under someone like General Andrews but as I told Agent Gibbs and Shiro, I was the first person to actually investigate the rumours that led me to Resembool all those years ago but I was certainly not the only one who heard about them. Had I not been the one to approach you, someone else would’ve and, despite my attitude towards you, I was the best choice for you.” Mustang grimaced. “Though given who your other choices were, it wouldn’t have been hard to be a better commanding officer than them.” Edward nodded reluctantly. He’d met some of the officers who had heard the same rumours about him that had drawn Mustang to Resembool and he’d been internally grateful each time that Mustang had been the one to approach him.

 

“While I know our relationship has gotten smoother since Promised Day, I still know how hard it is to forget those first few years so I wanted to make sure you knew how grateful I am that you were able to step-up after my arrest,” Mustang said, his whole body language completely open so they could see how honest he was being. “I know you’ve had minimal experience leading an entire team, let alone done my job, lead the team and investigate a case as massive as mine was while dealing with people like Generals Combes and Widdon, but you did so supremely well. I have absolutely no doubt that even if the BAU hadn’t arrived to help us that you would’ve been able to uncover Belmont’s identity and clear my name. I owe you a massive debt for not only finding out the truth but for also keeping the team together, so thank you,” Mustang stated, finishing what he wanted to say and leaning back slightly in his chair. Hawkeye gave him a proud look but both Elrics still looked completely flummoxed by what had just happened.

 

“Holy shit,” Ed said and for once, Alphonse didn’t admonish him for his language, though Mustang was certain it was because Ed had said what Al had been thinking. “Uh, you’re welcome, Mustang. I’m sure you would’ve done the same for me, even back before Promised Day. I am glad you were the one to offer me the chance to become a State Alchemist and I wouldn’t turn down your offer if I found myself back in that time again. You may be a bastard but you definitely were the least bastardly commanding officer I could have had,” Ed told him with an attempt at his usual shit-eating grin. It wasn’t close though and Mustang assumed it was because Ed was still slightly in shock at what Mustang had said. If he was being honest, Mustang was a little in shock at how much he’d said as well.

 

“Be nice, Brother,” Alphonse scolded Ed reflexively but it seemed to be the thing that broke him out of his shocked state. “Thank you for your kind words, General Mustang, but when you mentioned Generals Combes and Widdon, I remembered that I wanted to ask the two of you something,” he said, gesturing to Mustang and Ed. “What are your plans for them?”

 

“I haven’t really spared them a thought, if I’m being honest,” Mustang said. “Though now that you ask, Alphonse, I believe – based on what I’ve heard of their behaviour this past week and my own previous dealings with them – that they are involved in something they shouldn’t be,” Mustang told them and Ed snorted.

 

“Of course they are. That’s the only reason I could think of for why they were trying so hard to convince everyone that you were guilty and to twist Grumman’s arm so he would send you to trial as soon as possible,” Ed said. “Those dickwads are up to something illegal and they were terrified you were going to turn your attention to them before long.” Mustang nodded in agreement.

 

“I believe the same thing,” Mustang said. “However, I don’t think we should investigate them right away.” He held a hand up, expecting the brothers to question him but was a little surprised when Ed shot Al a smug look that had the younger Elric roll his eyes. “Right now, both generals are on edge because I’ve been released and because they’ve pissed Edward off. They’ll be expecting us to open an investigation into them immediately and they’ll have taken every measure to try and cover their tracks. However,” he said, “if we simply wait two or three months, they’ll start to relax. Wait another month or so after that and they’ll think they’re in the clear. If we start our investigation then and keep it quiet, by the time they figure out we’re looking into them, they won’t be able to do anything,” Mustang explained.

 

“I want in on bringing them down though,” Ed said, giving Mustang a look that told him exactly what would happen if he wasn’t involved.

 

“I’d be an idiot to try and keep you out of the investigation,” Mustang told him and Ed nodded, satisfied that he wouldn’t be kept out of the loop. Hawkeye and Mustang shared a look that Ed and Al couldn’t decipher but before either boy could ask, Hawkeye was standing up.

 

“Alphonse, would you mind helping me for a moment?” Hawkeye asked. Ed and Al shared a look of their own but Al did nod at Hawkeye and stood as well.

 

“Of course not, Captain Hawkeye,” Al said, giving Ed another look though it was plainly one warning him to behave himself. Ed rolled his eyes at his younger brother and watched as the two left him alone with Mustang.

 

“Alright, what now?” Ed asked, a little warily, not that Mustang blamed him.

 

“After the Lions revealed their initial reasons for disliking me so much, it made me realise how much I still needed to apologise to you for, Edward,” Mustang told him and Ed gave him a look the older alchemist couldn’t quite decipher.

 

“You don’t need to apologise for anything else, Mustang. I’m fairly certain you’ve filled your yearly quota of the number of apologies you can give me, anyways,” Ed joked, trying to avoid the conversation but Mustang wasn’t about to let him.

 

“Yes, I do. I hadn’t even realised that I never apologised to you for any of the things the Lions pointed out and that isn’t right,” Mustang told him and watched as Ed tried to cover his discomfort. The fact that Ed clearly didn’t know how to handle apologies from him made Mustang madder at himself and he silently swore an oath to give Ed an apology every time he was owed one. “I am so sorry I never told you the truth about Hughes. I don’t have a good reason for lying to you and telling you and Alphonse he had moved to the country and retired. I knew you would’ve found out the truth almost immediately from another soldier so I think I just didn’t want to be the one to tell you about it. It was cowardly and it was wrong and I apologise for that.”

 

“It’s okay, Mustang. I know I wouldn’t have wanted to be the one to break the news to you either so I get it,” Ed said, his discomfort still evident in the way he wouldn’t maintain eye contact.

 

“That doesn’t make it right. As your commanding officer it is my job to inform you of any deaths or injuries that you should know about,” Mustang told him sternly, refusing to let Ed try and nullify any apology he made. “I also should’ve trusted you more when it came to the plan about Lieutenant Maria Ross. I am well aware of how well you can keep a secret – you and your brother both – so I have no reason for why I chose to keep you out of the plan. I hadn’t foreseen you joining in on the search for her when news of her ‘escape’ broke but I should have. I had fully expected a random soldier to discover us so I was horrified when I realised it was you and that, from your perspective, I had just killed someone you knew and were friends with right in front of your eyes,” Mustang admitted and Ed didn’t bother hiding his shock at that.

 

“I also have absolutely no reason for hitting you. Whether it was because I was mortified at what you’d thought you’d just seen me do or a combination of my grief over Hughes and your reaction to what you saw, I still should never have laid a hand on you like that and I definitely should not have let you leave without an apology, nor should I have denied you one for so long.” Ed looked up at that and saw a pleading expression in Mustang’s eyes, begging him to believe him. “There aren’t many things I’ve done that I regret more than hitting you in that moment.” Ed’s eyes fell to the yellow and green bruise Mustang still sported and he resisted the urge to pull his legs up and hide behind his knees to escape the intensity of Mustang’s guilt.

 

“Well, I think we’re even for that,” Ed said, tapping the right side of his jaw to indicate what he was talking about. “I’m sorry for hitting you too. I probably shouldn’t have done that,” Ed said, meeting Mustang’s gaze again and, to his continued surprise, seeing disagreement in them.

 

“While I’ll admit you throw one hell of a punch and that I certainly hope I’m never on the receiving end of one again because I did think you’d broken my jaw, it was completely deserved and you and I both know it,” Mustang told him and Ed felt a same flutter of pride that his punch had been that strong, though he squashed that pride down. “I used the guilt I knew you would feel about Captain Hawkeye and the guilt I knew you felt over Hughes to hurt you as much as I could because all I wanted in that moment was for someone to feel worse than I did. I know I’ve already apologised for what I said but I’m doing so again. It wasn’t your fault that Belmont kidnapped Captain Hawkeye, just like it wasn’t your fault Hughes was killed and I am so sorry I said that,” Mustang said, letting Ed see how heartfelt his apologies were.

 

“I already forgave you for that, Mustang. You don’t have to keep apologising for it,” Ed muttered and Mustang nodded.

 

“I know I have and I know I don’t but I will never stop feeling guilty about it – or anything else I’ve done to you that you didn’t deserve – so I will keep apologising until I know you believe I’m being sincere,” Mustang said, telling him subtly that he knew Ed still harboured doubts about whether he meant his angered words or not.

 

“I’m not going to be able to make you stop, am I?” Ed asked, sighing slightly when Mustang grinned in response.

 

“Nope,” Mustang said simply, climbing to his feet and holding a hand out for Ed to take. The young alchemist accepted the hand and let his commanding officer pull him to his feet. Ed nearly squeaked when he found himself pulled into another completely unexpected hug.

 

“Mustang, you’re hugging me,” Ed said, slightly muffled against the shirt Mustang was wearing. He both felt and heard Mustang chuckle.

 

“Yes, I am. If you don’t return it, it’s gonna get awkward,” Mustang warned and grinned victoriously when he felt a metal arm snake its way around his waist and settle there lightly before the grip was tightened significantly. Mustang didn’t call Ed out on it; he just tightened his own hold in response.

 

They stayed like that for a while, neither giving any indication they wanted to stop the hug. Neither alchemist could recall any time where they showed each other this level of affection. In fact, the only time that they could think of was immediately after Edward and Shiro had killed Haggar and Mustang had wrapped Ed in a hug in an effort to try and comfort him. They only separated this time when they picked up the sounds of someone inside the house walking to the front door.

 

“Hey, if the two of you are all done talking out here, Granny says that lunch is ready,” Al said, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the kitchen.

 

“Thanks, Al. We’ll be right there,” Mustang told him and Ed nodded in agreement. Al narrowed his eyes at their behaviour but decided to leave it be for the moment and headed back inside. “We should go get some lunch,” Mustang said and Ed nodded again. “After all, we both know how cranky you get if you don’t get any food in you,” Mustang teased, throwing an arm over Ed’s shoulder.

 

“Oi!” Ed protested, growling slightly when all Mustang did was smirk at him as they walked to the door. Neither alchemist missed the fact that Mustang’s arm was still over Ed’s shoulder and that the blonde made no effort to escape until they were about to walk inside. 

* * *

 

The rest of the day passed at a comfortable pace. Since Ed couldn’t spar against anyone, Elysia claimed him and Alphonse for most of the day to help her with her drawings and to use their alchemy to entertain her. Pinako did give them chores throughout the day that the boys were more than happy to do for her. Hawkeye and Mustang were treated as guests so they weren’t asked to do much, though they did offer their help even if they were turned down more often than not.

 

Winry stayed up in her workroom for the majority of the day, only leaving it for food or if she needed something. Gracia was busy making sure she had everything she and Elysia had brought with her so they wouldn’t be rushing around in the morning trying to find a misplaced shirt or drawing. Pinako had offered to set up cots for Hawkeye and Mustang once more but both had declined, stating they would only be here for a night so there was no point.

 

“When will you be leaving for Rush Valley again, Winry?” Gracia asked as the eight of them sat down for dinner that night.

 

“Not for another three days. Some of my clients who live closer to Resembool have heard I’m home and have booked in for check-ups. I called Garfiel to make sure I could stay the extra days and he was fine with it,” Winry told her as they helped themselves to the food in front of them.

 

“That was nice of him,” Gracia commented and Winry nodded.

 

“He’s a very good boss like that. Always willing to let me come home if I need to for my clients or go to whichever hospital Ed has landed himself in after destroying my automail _again_ ,” Winry said scathingly as she glared t Ed, who was paying the food more attention than he was her.

 

“You’re hilarious, Winry,” Ed said drily as he pierced some vegetables with his fork and shoved them in his mouth.

 

“Don’t start a fight, Brother,” Al sighed and Ed glared at him.

 

“Tell that to the gearhead over there,” Ed grumbled. Winry gave him a withering glare that he was wholly unphased by. The glare disappeared at the pleading look Al gave her.

 

“Do they always behave like this when the boys are here?” Hawkeye asked Pinako quietly.

 

“No,” Pinako said with a huff. “Normally, they don’t listen to Alphonse,” she told her, going back to her dinner. 

* * *

 

Thanks to Gracia’s suggestion they all get themselves organised the night before, there was no last-minute running around for anyone the morning they were due to catch the train back to Central. Everyone was up early so they would all have time to get ready and eat before they left to walk into town, though Ed and Elysia did so with some grumbling.

 

“Thank you for your hospitality, Pinako,” Hawkeye said as they stood in front of the house with the two Rockbell women and Den watching them from the veranda. “We appreciate your willingness to allow us to stay with you for the last two days.”

 

“Yes, thank you, Pinako. It was very kind of you to put us up like you did,” Mustang said, standing at attention as he spoke to the elderly woman.

 

“You’re both welcome,” Pinako said. “It was no hassle having the two of you here.”

 

“Thank you, Granny,” Elysia said after a nudge and whisper from her mother.

 

“Thank you, Pinako. We truly appreciate you offering us your home while Ed and Al dealt with what was happening in Central,” Gracia said after her daughter spoke.

 

“You’re most welcome, the both of you,” Pinako said with a smile. “I enjoyed having the both of you in my home and you’re welcome back whenever you’d like, even if it’s just for a visit when the boys come home,” Pinako said sincerely.

 

“We might take you up on that,” Gracia said and Pinako nodded.

 

“You boys stay safe, you hear? I don’t want to see either of you back here covered in bandages,” Granny warned, pointing her pipe at both of them.

 

“We’ll do our best, Granny. Thank you for letting us stay,” Alphonse said, clutching Elysia a little tighter to himself. He’d been delegated to carrying her for the trip since she was still a bit drowsy from the early morning.

 

“See you later, Granny, Winry,” Ed said with a wave as the group turned to leave.

 

“I better not see you for automail-related reasons until your next check-up, alchemy freak!” Winry called as they started down the drive. Ed didn’t bother responding verbally; he just flipped her off as he walked away and smirked at her offended yell.

 

 _“You should be nicer to her, you know,”_ Blue said and Ed snorted.

 

“If I started being nice to her, she’d think I was being held hostage or something. This is how we always are to each other,” Ed told her mentally and felt all five Lions roll their eyes simultaneously.

 

 _“What will you be doing after you get back to Central?”_ Green asked and Ed sighed internally.

 

“Well, I need to call Major Armstrong when I’m on the train to let him know my ETA so he can pass the message along to his sister but I’m certain I won’t be able to meet with her until tonight at the earliest because we have to go and report back to Grumman first and that could take a while,” Ed told them, already dreading the conversation with Armstrong. He just hoped the older alchemist would remember that he can hear him perfectly fine over the phone so yelling wouldn’t be necessary.

 

“What are you talking to the Lions about, Brother?” Al asked, drawing Ed’s attention back to the road and the others.

 

“Just what the plans were for the rest of the day, nosey,” Ed told him and Al stuck his tongue out at him.

 

Elysia was still being carried by Alphonse but she was looking far more alert and Ed knew it wouldn’t be much longer before she was demanding to be put down so she could walk on her own feet. Ed glanced at their surroundings and noted they were already a third of the way to town and a look at his pocket watch told him they still had plenty of time. If he was really lucky, Ed would have time to grab a coffee for the train ride from the café. No one commented on the fact that Ed’s pace sped up slightly but they matched him anyway, not minding getting into town a little quicker. 

* * *

 

Edward was able to get his coffee like he wanted so he boarded the train happily with the others once the station announced they could. Elysia wasn’t as keen for the train ride home but she settled into the compartment seat and curled up next to her mother with minimal fuss. Ed sat himself next to Gracia, leaving Alphonse to sit with Mustang and Hawkeye, though the younger Elric didn’t seem to care all that much.

 

The train left the station right on 7:00am as scheduled so Ed took it as a sign that there would be minimal delays and they’d get to Central roughly when they should. He decided to wait until they had left East City to call Armstrong though since it would be the only station Ed could guarantee a delay and Armstrong would be able to judge when his train would arrive far more accurately then.

 

There was minimal chatter in the compartment for the first half of the train ride. Elysia wanted to hop off at each station but Gracia and the others managed to convince her to wait until East City where there was less chance of them straying too far from the station and missing the train when it left. When they finally pulled into East City station, everyone except Alphonse and Hawkeye chose to leave the train to stretch their legs a bit while Ed phoned Major Armstrong.

 

_“Major Armstrong’s office, this is Lieutenant Ross.”_

 

“Hey, Miss Maria, it’s Ed,” Edward said once she answered.

 

 _“Edward! It’s good to hear from you,”_ Maria said, sounding genuinely happy to hear from him. _“I take it you would like to speak to the major?”_ She asked and Ed nodded before remembering they were speaking on the phone.

 

“Yes, please,” he told her and he heard her hum for him to hold on a moment.

 

 _“I’ll put you through now, Edward. Have a safe journey back to Central and I’ll see you when you’re back,”_ Maria said and Ed heard the click that meant she’d transferred him before her could respond.

 

 _“Hello, young Edward! How are you travelling?”_ Armstrong boomed through the phone and Ed almost yelped at the volume of his voice.

 

“I’m fine, Major Armstrong. How’s everything in Central?” Ed asked, trying to get his ears to stop ringing.

 

 _“Everything is excellent here. Fuhrer Grumman has ordered former Major Belmont to be moved to a holding cell once her stitches have been removed until her trial date is set or her injury is healed enough that Fuhrer Grumman can trust it won’t worsen when she is in prison, whichever comes first,”_ Armstrong reported and Ed wasn’t surprised to hear it.

 

“Is she still claiming she shouldn’t be under arrest for killing all those people and attacking the others?” Ed asked, some small amusement in his voice as he watched Elysia lead Gracia and Mustang into a small bakery.

 

 _“Yes, she is still suffering the delusion that General Mustang should pay for her crimes because of the imagined slights she’s suffered at his hand,”_ Armstrong confirmed and Ed snorted in disbelief. He didn’t believe he’d meet someone more insane than Moore but Belmont was certainly a contender.

 

“Gotta love insane people,” Ed said before a whistle caught his attention and he noticed the train was about to start boarding. “Listen, major, the train’s about to leave. Can you let Lieutenant-General Armstrong know I’ll be in Central in a few hours but that I need to head to Grumman’s office with Mustang as soon as we get back to the base?” Ed asked.

 

 _“Of course, Edward,”_ Armstrong said. _“I’d be delighted to pass along your message to my beloved sister. I’m sure she’ll be pleased that you’ll be in Central promptly. I know she is most eager to hear the tales of yours and General Mustang wonderous adventures!”_ Armstrong exclaimed loudly but this time Ed was prepared for it and held the receiver away from his ear.

 

“Thanks, Armstrong. I’ll see you in a few hours,” Ed said, about to hang up the phone when he heard Armstrong ask something. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Ed said apologetically.

 

 _“That’s quite alright, young Edward. I was merely asking whether you would like for me to book a car to meet you, General Mustang and the rest of your group at the station?”_ Armstrong repeated and Ed made a surprised noise in the back of his throat. He hadn’t even thought of that but then he remembered that Mustang had mentioned something about him asking Armstrong to procure a car for them before they’d left Central with the BAU.

 

“That would be really great. Thanks, Major Armstrong,” Ed said just as the piercing whistle blew once more, causing him to wince. He saw Gracia, Elysia and Mustang board the train, though Mustang hung back and was waving at him to hurry up and board. “Major, I have to go now. Just let General Armstrong know when I’ll be in Central and thank you for offering to arrange the car,” Ed said, rushing over his words.

 

 _“It’s no problem, young Edward. You best be going lest you miss the train. We shall see you in a few hours!”_ Armstrong boomed. Ed shot off another quick goodbye before hanging up the phone and jogging lightly to where Mustang was still waiting, accepting the hand Mustang offered and letting the flame alchemist pull him into the car.

 

“Cutting it a bit close, Fullmetal,” Mustang drawled and Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“I had plenty of time,” he countered before rocking with the movements of the train as it left the station. Mustang raised an eyebrow and Ed scowled. “Well, I didn’t miss it, did I? Therefore I had plenty of time,” Ed stated stubbornly. This time, Mustang was the one to roll his eyes.

 

“What did Major Armstrong have to say?” Mustang asked as they walked to their private compartment.

 

“Just that Belmont will be put in a cell once her stitches are out and that he’s happy to pass along my ETA to General Armstrong,” Ed told him. “Oh, and he’s gonna schedule for a car to meet us at the station,” Ed said, snapping his fingers as he remembered.

 

“Excellent. I didn’t think you’d remember to ask him,” Mustang said, sliding open the compartment door.

 

“Ask who what, Sir?” Hawkeye asked as soon as the door entered.

 

“Fullmetal remembered to ask Major Armstrong to arrange a car for us,” Mustang told her. Hawkeye simply nodded in acknowledgement as Mustang and Ed took their seats. Ed decided that the fact that Armstrong had made the offer with no prompting from Ed didn’t need to be known to anyone other than himself, Armstrong and the Lions.

 

“Here you go, big brother,” Elysia said as she handed him a paper bag that held a pastry from the bakery Ed had seen them go into. “Here’s yours, Uncle Roy,” Elysia said as she handed Mustang a similar bag.

 

“Thanks, El. Thank you, Miss Gracia,” Ed said as he tucked into the chocolate pastry.

 

“You’re welcome, Ed,” Gracia said as Elysia continued handing pastries out and Gracia was soon being thanked by the other three people in the compartment as Elysia joined her mother once more. “So, what else did Major Armstrong have to say?” 

* * *

 

“Lieutenant-Colonel Elric!” Ed’s head snapped in the direction of the voice that was barely loud enough to be heard over the hustle and bustle of Central station.

 

“Over there,” Mustang pointed to a uniformed officer standing next to a military vehicle right outside the front entrance and Ed finally managed a glimpse.

 

“Sergeant Browning!” Ed called back, waving to the other man so he’d know he’d seen the driver. “Come on, guys,” Ed said, gesturing for them to follow him as he weaved his way through the crowd, keeping his grip on Elysia’s hand so he wouldn’t lose her in the crowd.

 

“It’s good to see you again, Sir,” Browning said as soon as Ed managed to make it all the way through the crowd to stand in front of the sergeant and they’d loaded any suitcases or bags the group was carrying into the boot.

 

“You too, Sergeant Browning,” Ed said, grinning at the man before remembering there were people with him. “Uh, you’ve met Al and Captain Hawkeye. That’s General Mustang there and I’m not sure if you remember Miss Gracia and Elysia Hughes,” Ed introduced and Browning saluted to both Hawkeye and Mustang.

 

“It’s a pleasure to see you all again and to meet you officially, General Mustang,” Browning said, holding his salute until Mustang dismissed him.

 

“It’s not that much of a pleasure once you know him,” Ed muttered, loud enough for Mustang to hear and was rewarded with a scowl from the older man.

 

“Where are we heading, Fullmetal, Sir?” Browning asked and Ed glanced at Gracia, who nodded subtly.

 

“We’ll head to the Hughes’ residence first, if you don’t mind, sergeant,” Ed said.

 

“Of course not, Sir,” Browning said as he opened the back-seat door and held it for everyone to climb in. Once they were all settled in the back of the car, Browning got behind the wheel and Ed gave him Gracia’s home address. “Thank you, Sir. We’ll be there in no time,” Browning assured them, pulling the car into traffic. 

* * *

 

True to his word, Browning had them in front of Gracia’s home sooner than they’d expected and they unloaded themselves from the car. Browning promised to wait for Ed, Al, Mustang and Hawkeye while they escorted the Hughes’ into their home. Mustang placed Gracia and Elysia’s suitcases on the floor in the living-room before joining the small group in the kitchen.

 

“You four had better head to Central Command before Fuhrer Grumman decides to pay my home a visit to find you,” Gracia said, shooing them towards the door.

 

“Alright, Miss Gracia. Al and I will be back sometime tonight, hopefully early-ish. It depends on whether Lieutenant-General Armstrong wants to talk to me tonight or tomorrow,” Ed told her and Gracia nodded in understanding.

 

“Just call me if you’re not going to be here for dinner, alright?” Gracia asked and Ed nodded. “Good. Now, you four need to go,” Gracia said, smiling as she all but shoved them out her front door.

 

“We’re going, we’re going! We’ll see you later. Bye, El!” Ed called out the same time as Alphonse did and the young girl waved at them.

 

“See you tonight, big brothers!” Elysia called back. “Bye, Uncle Roy! Bye, Miss Hawkeye!”

 

“Goodbye, Elysia,” Hawkeye said, indulging her with a warm smile.

 

“I’ll come ‘round to say hello when I can next, okay, Elysia?” Mustang promised and Elysia grinned widely like he’d just given her the best present.

 

“Okay, Uncle Roy,” she said happily.

 

“Let me know when you and the team want to come around for dinner,” Gracia said and both Mustang and Hawkeye nodded.

 

“Will do,” Mustang said before the four of them finally left Gracia’s home and headed back to where Sergeant Browning was waiting in the car.

 

“To Central Command now, sirs, ma’am?” Browning asked as he opened the door once more for them.

 

“Yes, please, Sergeant Browning,” Ed said, climbing in beside Alphonse.

 

“It always surprises me to hear you say ‘please’, Fullmetal, and not sound sarcastic or insubordinate when you do so,” Mustang drawled and Ed glared at him.

 

“I only use my manners with people who deserve it, Mustang,” Ed said haughtily, ignoring the laughter he could hear in his head from the Lions. While he appreciated them using their bond to keep him entertained during the train ride, he did not appreciate them using it to laugh at him.

 

“Behave, gentlemen,” Hawkeye warned as Browning manoeuvred the car into the street and headed for Central Command, “or I will make you,” she added threateningly. Mustang and Ed heeded her warning thought not before Ed flipped Mustang off when Hawkeye glanced out the window. 

* * *

 

“Major Armstrong!” Al called, having spotted the Strong-Arm Alchemist in one of the corridors they were heading up to get to Grumman’s office after Browning had gotten them to Central.

 

“Ah, young Alphonse! How marvellous it is to see you looking so well!” Armstrong boomed loudly enough that half of Central likely heard him. “And young Edward! I’m gladdened to see that Sergeant Browning managed to find the four of you so swiftly! General Mustang, Captain Hawkeye, it is a pleasure to see the two of you,” Armstrong said, saluting them now that he was in front of them.

 

“It’s good to see you as well, Major,” Mustang said politely, dismissing him from the salute. “I trust your sister is doing well.”

 

“She’s healing splendidly! Though swift recovery is a trait that’s been passed down the Armstrong family for generations so it’s to be expected!” Armstrong reassured them loudly. “Speaking of my dearest elder sister, she has asked me to pass along a message to you, young Edward,” Armstrong said and Ed nodded for him to continue. “She wishes for me to tell you that she would be honoured if you would be willing to meet her at our family manor tomorrow morning and join her for brunch. She also wishes for you to know that she would be delighted to have me arrange for our family chauffer to pick you up from your home, if you were so inclined.”

 

“Thanks, Major Armstrong,” Ed said, exchanging a glance with Al whose only reaction was to shrug and leave the decision up to him. “If your driver could pick me and Al up from Miss Gracia’s, that would be handy. If it’s too much of a hassle though, we can catch a taxi or something,” Ed said.

 

“Nonsense!” Armstrong boomed once more. “I shall arrange for our driver to arrive at your home for 9:00am, as per Olivier’s request, if that’s suitable?” Ed nodded, as did Al, and Armstrong clapped his hands together in delight. “Excellent! I shall make the arrangements! I don’t wish to delay you any longer from your meeting with Fuhrer Grumman so I shall bid you goodbye,” Armstrong declared, saluting Mustang and Ed once more.

 

“Thank you, Major Armstrong,” Mustang said, dismissing the salute immediately. “Enjoy the rest of your afternoon.”

 

“You too, Sir,” Armstrong said, voice barely above what would be considered acceptable inside a building before he strode on down the corridor, leaving them to continue their walk to the Fuhrer’s office.

 

“Somehow, I always manage to forget exactly how loud Major Armstrong can be,” Alphonse commented as they rounded a corner and Ed snorted.

 

“So do I,” Ed said, sharing a grin with his brother. “At least we know I’ll be at Miss Gracia’s for dinner now,” Ed commented brightly. “Now we’ve just got the meeting with Grumman to get through. That should be all kinds of fun,” Ed said, sounding only the slightest bit sarcastic.

 

“Lighten up, Fullmetal,” Mustang ordered. “Besides, if you’re lucky, we might run into two certain generals on our way,” he said nonchalantly, almost forgetting himself and smiling when Ed’s face lit up at the possibility.

 

“Oh, man, I really hope so,” Ed said enthusiastically, eyes shining in a way that had always meant trouble for Mustang.

 

Al looked like Mustang had just signed Ed’s death warrant. Hawkeye didn’t look any more impressed than Alphonse did. Mustang gave them both his most innocent look but, funnily enough, neither looked like they bought it. The flame alchemist just shook his head at them as they continued through the base. They certainly would be thanking him if they did get to witness Edward going up against the generals once more, if they did run into them today. At the very least, Ed was no longer complaining about being potentially bored as they made their way to Grumman’s office so Mustang counted it as a win either way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two more chapters to go after this! I would love to know everyone's thoughts on this story so far!


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31 –**

“Hello, Miss Samantha,” Ed and Al chorused as they entered the Fuhrer’s outer office. The Fuhrer’s secretary looked up, masking her jolt of surprise well and grinned at them broadly once she recognised them.

 

“Hello yourself, Edward and Alphonse. Good afternoon, General Mustang and Captain Hawkeye,” she greeted, nodding politely in the direction of the two adults before focusing on the brothers again. “I take it your trip home went well?” She asked, noting the lack of consultants with them.

 

“Yeah, it was good. The consultants went back home and my mechanic got to yell at me so it was a good trip for practically everyone all around,” Ed said flatly, causing Samantha to laugh at him.

 

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Samantha said before turning her attention back to Mustang and Hawkeye. “Fuhrer Grumman is in a meeting at the moment. He shouldn’t be much more than ten minutes. If you wish to wait, you’re more than welcome too,” Samantha said, gesturing to the comfortable couches across the room.

 

“Who’s the meeting with?” Ed asked, trying not to seem too eager but Samantha gave him a knowing look.

 

“Not Generals Widdon or Combes, if that’s what you’re wondering, young man,” Samantha said and Ed grinned sheepishly. “He’s meeting with former Major Belmont’s lawyer so he can authorise the release of Lieutenant-Colonels Brookes and Granger’s case files so the lawyer can look through them,” she explained and Ed sighed in disappointment.

 

“That sounds really boring,” Ed said before giving Samantha a smile. “We’ll just wait on the couches. Thanks, Miss Samantha.” Samantha nodded, giving Ed a smile before going to respond only to be interrupted by her desk phone ringing. She gave Ed an apologetic look before picking it up to answer and Ed took that as his cue to join the others on the couches.

 

Rather than sitting down and staring at a wall while Grumman finished up his meeting, Ed raided the bookshelves in the office, grabbed two books that looked interesting enough to keep him and Al entertained for a while and tossed one at his brother, though he was nice enough to give him a warning the moment before he did so. Al glared at him but accepted the book, flipped it open and started reading.

 

 _“How’s everything going?”_ Black asked, interrupting Ed’s reading but he didn’t mind.

 

“Just waiting to talk to Grumman. What about you guys?” Ed asked, still looking at the page he had been reading but not taking in any of the words.

 

 _“Everything’s pretty boring here. We’ve been escorting the last of the aliens we freed home and, aside from the mission we undertook while you were helping Mustang, we haven’t had to form Voltron at all. We haven’t even faced any kind of resistance,”_ Red told him, sounding almost annoyed at the like of violence and Ed snickered at her. _“You get bored when you haven’t fought at least one person a week so don’t you get all judgey,”_ Red growled and Ed couldn’t come up with a good point to argue back with so he gave Red the win. He didn’t think warranted as much smugness as Red was sending through the bond, though.

 

The door to the Fuhrer’s inner officer opened at that moment and a lanky man who looked barely older than Ed himself walked out of the office. He looked a little like he couldn’t believe he was walking out of a meeting with the Fuhrer and like he just realising how big this case was. He exchanged a quick word with Samantha before heading for the outer office doors at a pace that suggested he was trying to stop himself from running.

 

“Do you recognise him?” Ed whispered to Mustang who made a contemplative hum before answering.

 

“No, I don’t think so. He doesn’t look like he’s long been certified so my guess is he’s a court-appointed defence attorney. I hope for his sake this isn’t his first case,” Mustang whispered back, a touch of sympathy in his voice for the young lawyer.

 

“Yeah, imagine cutting your teeth on something like this,” Ed said, relaxing back in his chair, intending to get book to the book he had chosen.

 

“General Mustang? Edward?” Samantha called and their attention snapped back to her quickly enough to see her set down the phone they hadn’t even noticed she’d been on. “You all may enter the Fuhrer’s office now,” Samantha said, getting smoothly to her feet as the four of them got to theirs.

 

Once they joined her where she stood in front of the inner doors, she turned and knocked primly on the door. “Enter,” a voice called from inside and Samantha opened the doors for them, standing to the side so they could pass her.

 

“General Mustang, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, Captain Hawkeye and Alphonse Elric here to see you, Your Excellency,” Samantha announced as they strode through the doors. The four saluted but Grumman waved them out of it.

 

“Thank you, Samantha. You may leave,” Grumman said as he stood and moved around his desk. Samantha nodded and closed the door behind her. Once she was gone, Grumman spoke again. “I trust your visit to Resembool was successful?”

 

“Yes, Sir. The agents have gone back to their home country,” Mustang reported and Grumman nodded.

 

“I wish we could’ve had them stay longer. It would’ve been interesting to see what they could’ve taught our Investigations department,” Grumman said, gesturing for them to sit before he moved back to his chair and took a seat himself. “How did they make it back home?” Grumman asked and Mustang and Ed glanced at each other.

 

“Fullmetal and I used the array that would get us to Truth’s dimension,” Mustang worded his answer carefully, just in case. “We paid the toll for the agents and they were sent home, Sir.” Grumman looked a little upset and unsettled at the fact that Mustang and Ed had paid tolls.

 

“What toll did you have to pay and why? I was under the impression their trip would be free,” Grumman said and Ed couldn’t stop the snort he made.

 

“Yeah, we thought that too but Truth managed to take advantage of a loophole it had created,” Ed told him. “It told the agents _they_ wouldn’t have to pay a toll. It didn’t say that a toll wouldn’t be paid at all,” Ed said. “Since the agents couldn’t use alchemy to activate the array needed, Truth exploited the fact that they would have to rely on us. Since Mustang and I were the ones who activated the array, we paid the toll,” Ed explained.

 

“Our toll, Sir,” Mustang said before Grumman could ask again, “was that Fullmetal and I owe Truth a favour each. It can collect at any time and with no warning, like it did the first time we met the agents. It also took the knowledge I gained from my forced trip through the Gate. I can no longer perform alchemy simply by clapping,” he reported and Grumman sighed.

 

“So, at the very least, I can expect each of you disappear at least once more at any given time?” Grumman asked and both Mustang and Ed nodded. Grumman sighed once more before leaning forward and resting his forearms on his desk. “Alright. I’ll start preparing cover-stories for when that happens so we’re prepared if need be,” Grumman said, not looking overly enthusiastic about it.

 

“Thank you, Sir,” Mustang said.

 

“Thanks, Grumman,” Ed said after a prompting glare from both his brother and his commanding officer.

 

“You’re welcome,” Grumman said with a half-smile. “Is there anything else you need to report?” He asked and all of them shook their heads. “Okay. Edward, Alphonse, I would like to speak with Mustang and Riza in private, please,” Grumman said and Ed was out of his seat before he’d managed to finish his sentence.

 

“No problems, Grumman. We’ll head to the office and see if Havoc managed to blow it up yet,” Ed said, saluting Grumman. Alphonse followed his lead and the Fuhrer dismissed the salutes quickly.

 

“I trust he hasn’t as I’ve heard no reports of such a thing occurring in the last three days but that certainly sounds like a good idea. I’ll see you boys later. Have a good afternoon,” Grumman said.

 

“Thanks, Grumman,” Ed said as he and Al moved to the door.

 

“Have a good afternoon, Fuhrer Grumman, Sir,” Alphonse bade him. A nod from Grumman had both boys leaving the room, the doors being pulled shut behind them.

 

“Do you for me to leave as well, Fuhrer Grumman?” Hawkeye asked but Grumman shook his head.

 

“No, Riza. You may stay. What I have to tell Mustang will affect you as well,” Grumman said. Mustang would never admit it out loud but that statement had him worried. “Don’t look so worried,” Grumman chided, smiling at the alchemist. Evidently, Mustang hadn’t hidden his worry as well as he thought.

 

“Sorry, Sir,” Mustang said, giving the older man a sheepish smile. Grumman waved the apology away with another smile. “What did you want to speak with us about?” Mustang asked and Grumman leaned forward a little in his chair.

 

“I’m sure you remembered what we spoke about before you left for your trip to Resembool,” Grumman said. “I promised I would have an answer for you about who would fill Major-General Andrews position upon your return. I have conducted half a dozen interviews of candidates who possess enough of the necessary qualifications and experience that they were considered for the position. After deliberating over all candidates, I have made my decision and I thought you and Riza would like to hear it,” Grumman informed them. Both Hawkeye and Mustang looked far more alert with that news.

 

“After careful consideration, I have decided to grant you the position, Brigadier-General Mustang,” Grumman said. “If you choose to accept the role, you will assume all of his previous responsibilities and tasks and you will also assume control of his team, as I’m sure remember me telling you about the day of your release. Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert was made aware of this decision this morning and has expressed no concerns about working for you, should you choose to accept this position,” Grumman informed him.

 

“As you are undoubtedly aware, a general is allowed to have more than one team under their control however, if you feel your team is able to sufficiently deal with their current workload, as well as any future missions, and take on the workload Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert and her team deal with, you are within your rights to refuse command of Andrews’ former team. If you do so, I will be forced to disband his former team and assign them new positions.” Mustang and Hawkeye looked at each other for a moment but Grumman wasn’t finished.

 

“Normally, acceptance of this position would result in a new rank for the commanding officer and, if the commanding officer believes their team deserve it, a rank for those team members as well, providing I agree with their decision. However,” Grumman said, halting anything Mustang was going to say, “I will not be promoting you or any of your team,” he said apologetically. “This decision has nothing to do with the most recent events and everything to do with the fact that you were only promoted to brigadier-general four months ago. With you and your team having done nothing extraordinary that could’ve resulted in promotions being considered in the last four months, I cannot justify a promotion now.” Grumman looked like he was going to apologise but Mustang stopped him.

 

“That sounds perfectly reasonable, Fuhrer Grumman. Truth be told, I hadn’t expected to receive a promotion even if I were offered the position,” Mustang confided. Grumman looked a little relieved that Mustang wouldn’t put a fuss up about the promotion, unlike some other officers Grumman knew. “As for the matter of Major-General Andrews’ team, Captain Hawkeye and I discussed the possibility of me being offered this position and whether I would accept command of his former team after you mentioned I was being considered for it,” Mustang explained. “I had decided that I would assume command of Major-General Andrews’ team, if I were offered the position and now that I have been, my decision has not changed.” Grumman looked relieved and Mustang could empathise. No one wanted to be the one to tell a team as tight-knit as Andrews’ that they would be separated and reassign them to another team or department entirely.

 

“You’re accepting the position than?” Grumman asked and Mustang nodded.

 

“Yes, Sir,” Mustang said and Grumman grinned before pushing a small pile of paperwork towards him and chuckling when Mustang failed to stop the downward twitch of his lips entirely.

 

“Once you’ve signed these papers indicating your understanding of what the role requires and your acceptance of both the role and command of the team members listed within the paperwork, you’ll officially be awarded Major-General Andrews’ position,” Grumman told him, not bothering to hide the amusement he felt when Mustang accepted the paperwork with minimal enthusiasm. “There is also some paperwork for an office transfer. However, I’m unsure whether either your current office or the office Major-General Andrews had been occupying would be big enough for both teams,” Grumman said and Mustang looked up from the paper he was reading.

 

“If I may, sirs, I believe I have a solution,” Hawkeye said and Grumman nodded for her to continue. “When Lieutenant-Colonel Elric first introduced our team to the foreign agents, he mentioned that you had given them permission to use the empty office next to ours if they needed it, Fuhrer Grumman,” Hawkeye reminded him. “If the both of you are agreeable, my suggestion would be to reassign Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert and the other members of Major-General Andrews’ former team to that office. They would be able to access our office easily enough via the front doors or I’m sure Lieutenant-Colonel Elric or his brother could be persuaded to alchemise a set of doors in between the offices for even easier access.” Both Mustang and Grumman looked impressed with her idea and Grumman finally nodded.

 

“That’s an excellent idea. Mustang?” Grumman asked, seeking his opinion.

 

“I have no complaints. I believe it to be a perfect solution to the problem of size,” Mustang said in agreement.

 

“Wonderful. I’ll have the paperwork sent to your office for you to complete tomorrow,” Grumman told him and Mustang bit back the sigh at having more paperwork to do. He’d been about to return to the paperwork he’d been given when Grumman spoke again. “I’ve asked Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert and her fellow team members to finish their day’s work in the office they’re in. I’ll have Samantha call them once you’ve left and request that they start packing their office and Major-General Andrews belongings. They’ll report to you in the morning and I’ll issue an announcement to all departments that any paperwork that would’ve gone to them is to be sent to you. I’ll officially announce your new position tomorrow morning, as well,” Grumman informed him.

 

“I believe it would be a prudent idea to have Samantha ask Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert to instruct the others to order anyone delivering paperwork to their current office tomorrow to deliver it to us instead, just in case someone doesn’t get your message, Sir,” Mustang suggested and Grumman nodded.

 

“I’ll do that,” Grumman said. “In fact, while you’re finishing up your paperwork, I’ll go talk to Samantha and get the ball rolling,” Grumman told them, giving the paperwork in front of Mustang a significant look as he got to his feet.

 

“I’ll see that he has it completed by the time you come back, Sir,” Hawkeye said, giving Grumman a salute that he immediately dismissed.

 

“I’m sure you will,” Grumman said with a smile that threatened to turn into a grin at Mustang’s slightly alarmed expression as he turned back to the paperwork. Grumman shook his head at the two of them as he stepped outside of his inner office and greeted his secretary. 

* * *

 

An hour later, Mustang and Hawkeye walked through the front door of their office to find the team laughing along with Edward and Alphonse, who were occupying two of the spare chairs. Edward had his feet up on the desk in front of him and was rocking his chair onto its two back legs, looking completely relaxed, while Alphonse was sitting in a far more civilised manner; he was leaning forward and resting his weight on his forearms that, in turn, were resting on the surface of the desk in front of him.

 

“Glad to see my team so hard at work in my absence,” Mustang drawled as he entered.

 

“Hey, bossman!” Havoc greeted, seemingly unconcerned about Mustang’s comment. “We’ve finished all of our work for today and the chief was entertaining us with stories of your mini-vacation,” he told him.

 

“Your paperwork is waiting for you in your office, General Mustang,” Breda told him, grinning when Edward tried to stifle his amusement when Mustang’s face dropped.

 

“Thank you, Lieutenant Breda,” Mustang said, looking at his door with a sense of foreboding before he seemed to remember something. “Actually, before I get started on what should surely be riveting paperwork, there is something I need to tell all of you as this news will affect the entire team and even you, Alphonse,” Mustang said, moving to stand so he was next to Hawkeye’s desk. Hawkeye herself moved to sit in her desk while the others exchanged curious murmurs.

 

“This has something to do with Andrews’ job, doesn’t it?” Ed asked and Mustang nodded in confirmation.

 

“Yes. I have officially been offered his position and I have accepted it. My duties that come with this new position will begin tomorrow morning, as will my command of General Andrews’ former team,” Mustang informed them and was rewarded with the surprised and shocked expressions from all except Hawkeye that he’d expected.

 

“Are we moving offices, Sir? There’s no way the two teams will fit inside this office,” Fuery asked, pointing out the obvious.

 

“No, we won’t be moving offices. Captain Hawkeye suggested that we utilise the empty office next door and turn it into a secondary office for Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert and her team members to use and Fuhrer Grumman agreed,” Mustang told him and saw the relief roll through his team and nodded in understanding. They’d only just settled into this office after the move his promotion had offered four months ago and would understandably be upset at the idea of having to do it all over again so soon.

 

“What does this mean for us? Will the two teams be sharing responsibilities?” Falman asked and Mustang shook his head.

 

“No,” Mustang said. “I’ll be keeping your responsibilities the same. Just as Captain Hawkeye is my second-in-command for this team, Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert will be my second for her team. They will be continuing their day-to-day duties just as this team will continue theirs. The only time I expect for there to be any duty-sharing is if we were assigned a field mission and I believed some of the new team to be suitable for it,” Mustang told them and they nodded in understanding. “The only changes I expect to be made to our routine is to have some members of the new team entering the office to speak with myself or possibly one of you and to have an increase in paperwork delivered here for us to sort through.” The group seemed to accept this readily and Mustang wondered if there was a way to segue into the next lot of news he had to tell them or if he should just rip the bandage off and prepare himself for Edward’s reaction.

 

“I apologise, general, but I’m not certain I see how this news really affects me as well,” Alphonse said, wincing in apology and Mustang silently thanked him for giving him a way to bring the subject up.

 

“Yes, there is another announcement I need to make and it’s the one that involves you,” Mustang said, giving Al a nod before turning his attention to the team as a whole once more. “Since I will now be responsible for two teams and an entire branch of the military, I can no longer lead field missions that involve the team as a whole without there being an explicit reason that requires my physical involvement. What this means is that I will need someone to become the field commander on the occasion where either team is sent out for a mission. This person would be responsible for the team and the completion of the mission,” Mustang could see that Edward was catching on to who he was implying and the look the blonde was giving him did not bode well for his future but he continued nonetheless, “and I have decided the person best suitable for that job is Fullmetal.”

 

“I hate you so much. I should’ve done worse to your office,” Edward snarled as the rest of the team tried valiantly to hide their amusement at the blonde’s outraged expression.

 

“Brother, it’s not that bad,” Al tried to soothe. “You won’t be in charge of them all the time and you know how rare it is for the whole team to go out on a mission,” Al pointed out, trying to make his brother calm down a little by being rational.

 

“I’m gonna get you back for this,” Edward vowed, staring at Mustang. “You won’t know when or how or where I’ll get you but it will happen.”

 

“Stop being dramatic, Fullmetal,” Mustang said, rolling his eyes. He didn’t mind the threats or the fact that Ed never broke a promise; he was just glad there was no physical attack. Having dealt with one brother, he turned to the other. “Now, from what I remember you telling me, Alphonse; Fullmetal made you his personal aide when Combes threatened to kick you off the base?” Mustang asked and Al nodded.

 

“Yes, he did. Oh!” Al exclaimed, turning to his brother, “that reminds me; I quit.” Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“No, I’m firing you, remember?” Ed said, ribbing Al gently. Alphonse shook his head vehemently and opened his mouth but Hawkeye interrupted him before he could say anything.

 

“Actually, we believe it would be beneficial for the both of you if Alphonse was to stay on as your personal aide, Edward,” she told them, ignoring the offended noise Mustang made when she voiced what he had been about to say. “General Combes, as loathe as I am to admit it, had a point when he said a civilian not contracted by the military is not allowed access to the files Alphonse regularly reads. I’m honestly surprised no one said anything before now, though I suspect that was because of the fact that Wrath believed it to have been a small rule to break if it meant the two of you would be close by for Promised Day,” Hawkeye mused before Mustang took back control of the topic.

 

“I believe it would be in both your interests if Alphonse is your personal aide, on paper at least. Unless, of course, he has decided he no longer wishes to accompany you on missions,” he said, pretending not to see Hawkeye’s small shake of her head.

 

“No, of course I haven’t,” Al told him and he nodded.

 

“I didn’t think you had,” Mustang assured him, giving him a small smile. “If you remain as Fullmetal’s personal aide, no one would be able to question your presence on missions or during briefings or debriefings and you wouldn’t be at risk of another situation was narrowly avoided only because of Fullmetal’s quick thinking.” Al and Ed shared a glance and Ed shrugged his shoulder.

 

“It’s up to you, Al,” Ed told him. Al didn’t seem pleased that Ed didn’t want to weigh in on the decision but then again, Mustang would’ve been surprised if Al didn’t already know Ed’s thoughts on the matter.

 

“I’ll stay on as Brother’s personal aide, at least on paper anyway,” Al decided and Mustang nodded.

 

“Wonderful. Now we won’t have any future problems regarding your presence during missions and the like,” Mustang said, sounding a little relieved at that. There was silence in the room for a moment or two as Mustang seemed to be trying to remember if there was anything else he needed to talk with them about. “I believe that is all I needed to talk with you all about. Fullmetal, Alphonse, I know the two of you have the meeting with General Armstrong and a check-up with your doctors tomorrow but I need the two of you to come by afterwards tomorrow so you can meet General Andrews’ former team.” Edward sighed long-sufferingly and Mustang levelled him with an unimpressed look.

 

“Fine, if we have the time,” Ed muttered in agreement. Mustang looked like he wanted to make it an order but a look from Hawkeye had him reconsider his actions.

 

“Alright,” Mustang said, clapping his hands together. “I’m gonna go get what paperwork I have done so I’m not here late tomorrow night.” Mustang headed for his inner office with Hawkeye’s approving look following him. He didn’t notice Ed and Al’s eager anticipation building as he entered the office, nor did he see them spring to their feet the moment he was out of sight, the inner office door being left half-open.

 

 _“What do you think his reaction will be?”_ Red asked, the effort she was putting behind not laughing completely evident in her voice.

 

“I think we’ll find out in a few moments,” Ed told her. The rest of Mustang’s team was watching him with bemusement and amusement as the two brothers stood next to the outer office door, ready to run for it.

 

For a minute or so, there was nothing out of the ordinary and Ed and Al exchanged a look, wondering whether Mustang hadn’t uncovered their prank yet or whether it somehow didn’t work on him. Just before their disappointment could really settle in, they heard confused mutters coming from inside the office. Havoc and Breda, neither of whom knew what exactly Ed and Al had done – none of the team did – were frantically whispering bets to each other as the confused mutters turned into furious ones that increased in volume. When everyone heard what sounded like the drawers being ripped open violently, the boys opened the outer office door silently.

 

“We’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Ed said, voice bubbling slightly as his laughter refused to be contained when they heard the drawers slam shut again.

 

“Tell him to check his bookshelves, too,” Alphonse said, voice equally as amused as Ed’s. The frustrated searching grew even louder and Ed was certain the others had to have been able to hear the Lions laughing in his head, they were that loud.

 

“FULLMETAL!” Came the angry roar from inside the office and Al ripped open the door so they could leave.

 

“Bye, guys!” Ed called, not waiting for a response as he and Al raced down the corridor, their cackles ringing through the corridor and back into the office just in time for Mustang to hear it when he came back out of his inner office, fuming.

 

“Where’d he go?” Mustang demanded, glaring at those in his team who couldn’t hide their amusement.

 

“I imagine they’re heading back to Gracia’s home, General Mustang. If you’d like, I can call her and leave a message for them from you, if it’s not urgent,” Hawkeye offered, voice as professional and flat as it always was. Her offer didn’t seem to calm Mustang down any. “What seems to be the problem, Sir?” She asked, picking up the phone, as if she was fully prepared to phone Gracia.

 

“That little shit rearranged everything in my office so now I don’t know where anything is! He’s destroyed my entire system and stolen other items!” Mustang snarled, glaring holes through the outer office door. The snorts Havoc and Breda gave were undignified but they got Mustang’s attention back from the wall.

 

“That does sound troublesome,” Hawkeye said, no sympathy or empathy detectable in her voice. “Alphonse suggested you check your bookshelves before he and Edward left for the night, Sir.” Mustang groaned, muttering unflattering things about Edward as he turned back for his inner office and Havoc, Breda and Fuery broke down into giggles as Breda passed money over to Havoc. Falman was hard-pressed keeping his face in its usual mask and Hawkeye just rolled her eyes at their behaviour before getting back to her pile of accumulated paperwork.

 

The team listened to Mustang pulling books of their shelves and rifle through the pages. Havoc was actually impressed with how Mustang managed to make the actions sound so angry. Every now and then, there would be a small thud from inside the office that would be followed by a bitten curse from the flame alchemist.

 

Hawkeye seemed content to ignore the noises as she methodically worked through her paperwork and, despite having already finished their work for the day, the other members of the team unanimously decided to stay until the end of the work day rather than ask if they could knock off early, like they might’ve done if Mustang wasn’t in such a foul mood. As the angry muttering continued inside of the inner office, each team member thought that maybe it would be for the best if the brothers were too busy to swing by the office tomorrow. 

* * *

 

“He was so mad!” Ed puffed, trying to laugh and breath at the same time as he and Al slowed their pace down once they were a few corridors away. Ed was a little surprised that he hadn’t felt his stitches in his calf or side rip as they ran before coming to the realisation that it was likely because he’d taken it so easy over the days since he was stitched up and his wounds had healed up enough that the small amount of running didn’t affect them.

 

“I know!” Al giggled, nodding to a passing soldier who had a puzzled look on their face.

 

 _“You do know it might be a good idea for you to avoid the office tomorrow. Maybe even the day after as well. Mustang did not sound very impressed with your prank,”_ Black said flatly as Red and the other Lions laughed.

 

 _“It was a good idea though. You’ll have to remember to thank Lance, Pidge and Hunk for suggesting it when they wake up,”_ Blue reminded them and Ed nodded, whispering the conversation to Al so he was in on it.

 

“Yes, I’m sure Brother will let me know when he talks to them next,” Al said, knowing full-well the Lions could hear him.

 

“Course I will,” Ed said, both to his little brother and the Lions. “Though, you guys are probably right about avoiding the office. I don’t think Mustang will be leaving any time soon, not after the amount of effort we put into completely screwing up his system. It was an excellent idea to hide some of his things in his bookshelf,” Ed praised all of them and was rewarded with feeling Yellow flush mentally and seeing Al’s cheeks pinked. It had been a collaboration between Hunk, Yellow and Al to hide several of Mustang’s office items behind the books and within the pages themselves.

 

They nodded to the guards stationed at the front gates and turned in the direction they needed to go to get back to Gracia’s house. They spent the walk discussing when they thought how long they’d need to wait before visiting the office to ensure their continued survival. Ed and Al only stopped once on the way to their destination and that was at the bakery Gracia and Elysia seemed to enjoy most to pick up some after-dinner treats for them all. Once they were bought, the two boys left the bakery and continued back up the street, still chatting to each other and the Lions as they walked. 

* * *

 

“We’re back!” Ed called as they opened the front door to Gracia’s house. The first thing they heard was Elysia’s squeal of excitement, soon followed by Gracia’s warm greeting coming from somewhere upstairs. The two boys managed to toe their boots off just before Elysia crashed into Ed’s legs.

 

“Welcome home, big brothers!” Elysia greeted, looking up from where she was wrapped around Ed’s thighs when Ed ruffled her hair gently.

 

“Hey, El. You do remember you saw us a couple of hours ago, right?” Ed asked teasingly as she released him and latched onto Alphonse, who returned the hug with enthusiasm.

 

“I know but I missed you!” Elysia told him as if it should’ve been obvious.

 

“We missed you too, Elysia,” Al told her reassuringly as he detangled himself from her tight grip. “What did you and your mum get up to once we left?” He asked as the three of them headed further into the house.

 

“Mummy has been doing some cleaning. She found a note on the table from her friend, Karen, so she phoned her,” Elysia reported dutifully before scrunching up her face as she tried to think about what else had happened in the few hours they’d been gone. “Oh! I unpacked my suitcase and sorted through all of the drawings I did for you and Uncle Roy and all of Uncle Roy’s friends while I was at Granny Pinako’s,” Elysia told them excitedly.

 

They had, of course, already seen all of the drawings Elysia had done for them but she hadn’t given the drawings to them because she had wanted to give them to everyone at the same time, which meant she’d be doing so when they got together for the celebratory dinner Gracia had promised.

 

“Did you behave yourself for your mum today?” Al asked and Elysia nodded vehemently that she had.

 

“She did. She was very helpful today,” Gracia said, startling the three of them as they hadn’t heard her approach. She gave them a knowing smile when they tried to cover up their shock.

 

“Hey, Miss Gracia,” Al greeted before holding up the bakery treats they had bought. “We grabbed these to have after dinner,” he explained and both Hughes’ smiled, Elysia with far more enthusiasm than Gracia.

 

“Thank you both. That was very sweet of you,” Gracia said, accepting the bags and placing them in the fridge.

 

“It was no problem, Miss Gracia,” Ed assured her before looking around the kitchen. “Did you want a hand with anything?” Gracia thought for a moment before answering.

 

“I wouldn’t mind a hand with dinner but that won’t be for a couple more hours yet,” Gracia told them. “I’m sure the three of you can find something to entertain yourselves with until then,” she said, grinning when Elysia immediately tried dragging them up to her room.

 

“You can play with me!” She squealed, doubling her efforts though they still weren’t moving fast enough for her, if her groans of frustration and grunts of exertion were anything to go by.

 

“Oh, I’m assuming since you’re here now that you’ll be here for dinner?” Gracia asked, wanting to be certain and both boys nodded.

 

“Yeah, Lieutenant-General Armstrong wants to talk to Brother in the morning so someone will pick us up by 9:00am,” Alphonse told her and Ed snapped his fingers.

 

“Don’t let me forget my tablet in the morning. I think I might need it so she’ll truly believe I went to space and have the Lions in my head still,” Ed said and Alphonse nodded, though he rolled his eyes at him.

 

“Then you’ll be going straight to the hospital after that to have your injuries checked, yes?” Gracia asked though something in her tone told them she’d be forcing them to go if their answer was ‘no’.

 

“Yup,” Ed said, sounding as enthusiastic as he always did when it came to going to the hospital.

 

“So I shouldn’t expect the two of you for lunch tomorrow?” Gracia asked, not bothering to try and get Ed to see the check-up was in his best interest. Both she and Alphonse had lost too many hours of their lives trying to do that and getting nowhere.

 

“No, probably not. We’ll likely be at General Armstrong’s for a few hours and we can grab something on our way to the hospital if we need too,” Ed told her. Elysia looked a little put out but Gracia just nodded.

 

“Well, since we weren’t sure how long we would be in Resembool, Elysia and I will be at home for the rest of the week, though I think that will be for the best. It’ll give everything more of a chance to calm down and for me to pay Elysia’s school a visit so we can discuss the way she was treated,” Gracia said, sounding pleasant enough but the boys saw the way her jaw clenched and her fists tightened slightly before relaxing again. “I would really appreciate it if one of you would be able to look after Elysia for me while I’m doing that,” she said, turning slightly pleading eyes on them that weren’t necessary.

 

“Of course, we will, Miss Gracia,” Ed told her happily. Elysia beamed when Al nodded his agreement. “Obviously, we can’t tomorrow but maybe the day after? It’ll give us a good excuse to not go into the office,” Ed said, looking at Al with a grin on his face.

 

“Oh, what did you do?” Gracia asked, recognising the look on their faces and both boys shrugged.

 

“Nothing that wasn’t deserved,” Ed promised. Gracia opened her mouth slightly, obviously about to ask before closing it decidedly.

 

“I imagine I’ll hear all about it when we have that dinner,” she said instead. “Did you get a day from everyone?” Both boys gave her a guilty grin.

 

“We may have forgotten once Mustang went into his office and we needed to run so he couldn’t snap at us when he discovered what we did,” Ed told her.

 

“But we should be going in tomorrow, assuming the meeting with General Armstrong and our check-ups don’t take too long, so we can ask then,” Al said before she could say anything.

 

“Alright,” Gracia said before shooing the three of them out of her kitchen. “I need to finish cleaning and Elysia wants to play. I’ll come and find you when I need some help,” Gracia promised when it looked like they might be about to say something about that.

 

“Okay, Miss Gracia,” Ed said before turning to Elysia. “You gonna lead the way, missy?” He asked, a teasing note in his tone and Elysia nodded before grabbing both him and Alphonse once more and tugging.

 

“Come on, big brothers! Let’s play!” She squealed as she led them up the stairs and to her room.

 

“You heard the boss,” Gracia grinned as Ed and Al laughed at Elysia’s antics and watched as the three of them disappeared up the stairs, shaking her head as she heard Elysia’s plans for the game she wanted to play. She knew her daughter would take pity on Edward because of his injuries but the same couldn’t be said for Alphonse, despite the stitches in his scalp. She sighed as she started digging through her freezer for something to defrost for the four of them to have for dinner though her smile came back when she heard three distinct laughs float down from Elysia’s room. 

* * *

 

“Thank you for driving us, Sir,” Alphonse said as he and Edward climbed out of the Armstrong family’s car that had pulled up in front of the hospital. Edward voiced his own thanks and the stern-but-friendly chauffeur gave them a nod.

 

“It was my pleasure, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, Mr. Elric,” the chauffeur – James – said with a professional tone as he shut the car door behind them. Edward suppressed the urge to snap about the use of his military rank but he’d learned from Catherine, the youngest Armstrong child, that James would not be swayed into calling them anything but their earned titles when she’d overheard Ed ask him to do so the first time.

 

“Have a good day,” Ed said as James slid smoothly behind the wheel and pulled his door shut.

 

“The same to you, young sirs,” James said, dipping his head once more before driving away from the hospital.

 

“Remind me to keep any future inter-dimensional travels from General Armstrong,” Ed ordered the moment he was certain James wouldn’t overhear them. Alphonse would’ve laughed if he hadn’t been at the meeting with his brother and witnessed the gruelling interrogation Edward had himself under.

 

“She was simply intrigued by everything. How often do you hear about someone going to anything dimension even once?” Al said, trying to defend Armstrong.

 

“That’s not the point! I didn’t even know someone could have that many questions about any kind of subject!” Ed exclaimed, throwing his automail arm up in an exasperated manner. “And you lot need to zip it,” he nearly snarled at the Lions who were giggling in his head. Al tried to smother his own laughter but was ultimately unsuccessful and found himself on the end of one of Ed’s glares.

 

“At least she believed you far more quickly than anyone else,” Al said, trying to be optimistic and Ed’s tense frame relaxed slightly.

 

“Yeah, I suppose so. Though the tablet was probably the reason for that,” Ed said, subconsciously tapping his secret, reinforced inner jacket pocket that contained his tablet.

 

Olivier Armstrong had been hospitable enough to provide them food prepared by the family chefs but that was as far as her hospitality had extended. She’d demanded Ed start from the very beginning, meaning his first deal with Truth, before questioning every tiny thing she could as he recounted his stories for her. From the kinds of buildings America had to the kinds of weapons the agents wielded, the different kinds of foods Ed had tried and the different investigative methods he’d witnessed, Armstrong had left nothing unquestioned.

 

When it had come to telling her about Voltron and the war between them and the alien race, the Galra, Armstrong had initially scoffed in disbelief and informed Ed that she had no time for his childish pranks and demanded he tell her the true story before she lost what little patience she had. That’s when Ed had produced his tablet and the sight of the highly unusual device was enough to stun Armstrong into silence long enough for Ed to make it to where he’d first met all of the Lions without the general interrupting with questions.

 

The tablet had proven invaluable once again as Ed showed Armstrong every photo, video and other files it contained. He’d shown her everything except the videos the Paladins had left for him so they could say goodbye. He’d shown no one those, with the only exception being Alphonse and Mustang and he’d only shown Mustang the videos at the behest of the Paladins since the videos technically contained messages for him as well. Though she acted like she wasn’t intrigued, Ed and Al had both shared a knowing smirk when Ed had shown Armstrong the first few minutes of one of the numerous Disney films on the tablet and had seen Armstrong’s features softened minutely before she got control over them.

 

“Edward Elric, you had better be here for a check-up and not because you’ve injured yourself again,” a plump, middle-aged nurse said, threatening undertone to her voice as she glared at them from where she stood just outside the front doors.

 

“Hi, Nurse Darlie,” Ed greeted, giving her his brightest, most innocent grin. “Doc Evans ordered me and Al back here today for a check-up,” he told her. Her features softened but she didn’t lose the suspicious glare, like she didn’t fully believe him and Ed found that to be a little rude.

 

“Well, come along than. We shouldn’t keep Doctor Evans waiting,” Darlie said, gesturing for them to hurry up. They did as she said, dutifully following close behind her as she expertly weaved through the nurses, doctors, visitors and patients walking around the hospital. “Doctor Evans?” She called when they caught sight of the man, catching his attention just before he disappeared around a corner.

 

“Ah, glad to see the two of you didn’t forget about this appointment,” Evans said, looking at them pointedly.

 

“Just because we’ve forgotten once or twice, -”

 

“More like _you’ve_ forgotten ten or twenty times,” Al muttered and Ed elbowed him in the ribs.

 

“- it doesn’t mean we’re gonna forget every time,” Ed finished saying, acting as though Al’s interruption hadn’t happened.

 

“Sure,” Evans drawled, completely unconvinced. Turning to Darlie, he said, “take them to exam room 3, please. I’ll be there once I’ve checked on my last couple of patients.”

 

“Yes, doctor,” Darlie said before turning smartly on her heel and shooing the two boys back down the hallway.

 

A couple of minutes later, they were sat on the examination bed (Ed) and the chair the doctor normally occupied (Al) before being left to their own devices while Darlie got back to her duties. Ed and Al passed the twenty minutes it took for Evans to finish his rounds by talking to the Lions about what they and the Castle-ship occupants had planned for the day.

 

“Let’s start with you, Alphonse,” Evans said the moment he walked into the room and closed the door. “How are your injuries feeling?”

 

“My ribs are still sore from being bruised but my knee doesn’t hurt anymore. My head wound itches like nothing I’ve ever experienced before,” Al reported, lifting his shirt at Evans gesture. The doctor pressed on his ribs firmly and examined the fading bruises and healing scrapes and cuts before letting Al put his shirt back on.

 

“I’ll have a look at that head wound of yours now,” Evans said, leaning forward a bit into Al’s space to see the stitches and wound better. “Looks like it’s healed nicely. I’ll remove them for you but try not to scratch at the wound until it’s fully healed,” Evans instructed sternly, waiting for Al to nod before he moved to find a pair of tweezers and thin-bladed scissors.

 

Once he’d found them, he turned back to Alphonse and glanced at Ed. “You can take off your jackets and pants. I’ll check your injuries next,” Evans told him and Ed did as he was told as Evans carefully cut and removed the stitches from Al’s scalp. The older Elric wanted to chuckle at Al’s expression, knowing the odd sensation of stitches being removed all too well but he managed to refrain from doing so.

 

“Thank you, Doctor Evans,” Al said once Evans had removed the last stitch and placed it in the sterile dish to be thrown out once he was done.

 

“You’re welcome, Alphonse. Remember; keep the wound clean and try not to scratch it until it’s fully healed,” Evans reminded him and Al nodded dutifully. “Your turn,” Evans said, rounding on Ed, who was sitting on the bed once more, now dressed in just his tank top and boxers.

 

“Do your worst,” Ed said and had the distinct pleasure of seeing Evans roll his eyes as he changed his gloves and grabbed clean instruments.

 

“I’ll check your leg first so lay on you stomach please. Try not to jostle your abdomen wound while you do so,” Evans said and Ed did as instructed. After a few moments of Evans poking the wound, he spoke. “I’m surprised. This wound has healed nicely. Does this mean you actually followed my instructions to stay out trouble for the week?” Evans asked and Ed turned his head so the doctor could see his scowl.

 

“Brother has been very well-behaved,” Al informed him, voice filled with laughter that broke through when Ed flipped him off without looking.

 

“These stitches can come out so long as you give the leg a couple more days to heal before you start running after criminals, assuming your other injuries have healed enough for me to reconsider my recommendation for a month off,” Evans said and Ed groaned at the thought of having to continue to wait to go on a mission. “I’m sure you’ll survive,” Evans said with zero sympathy. Ed muttered something into his arms before nodding, giving Evans the go-ahead.

 

It took a minute but Evans finally got the last stitch out and placed it in the dish to be disposed of later. “You can sit up now,” Evans told Ed, who swung himself into a sitting position almost before Evans finished speaking. “I’ll look at you neck before I check your arm or abdomen, alright?” Evans asked.

 

“Sure, doc,” Ed agreed easily. Evans was quick about taking the bandage off and Ed wondered if he’d figured out his discomfort with his neck being touched. Perhaps Nurse Emma had told him after she’d dressed the wound originally.

 

“Tilt your head,” Evans instructed. Once Ed did as he was told, Evans examined the wound carefully before nodding in satisfaction. “I don’t believe we need to do anything more with this wound. Just keep it clean and try not to scratch it until it’s healed.” Ed nodded in acknowledgement and Evans gestured for his arm.

 

“So, what’s the verdict on it, doc?” Ed asked once Evans finished examining both the gash and the bullet entrance and exit wounds.

 

“I’ll take the stitches out of the cut but I’d prefer to leave the others in for a few more days, just to be certain,” Evans told him.

 

“Will I need the sling still?” Ed asked, giving the discarded sling a glare where it lay slightly under his jackets.

 

“So long as you don’t do anything to rip the stitches out until your next check-up, you can leave the sling off,” Evans said and Ed nodded in agreement. Al just rolled his eyes at his brother’s eagerness to be rid of the sling. While Ed hadn’t complained about it often, his opinion on it had been made overwhelmingly obvious by his behaviour.

 

Evans carefully snipped each stitch before pulling it out. Ed, having been through this procedure more often than most would expect, barely twitched. “Alright, let’s take a look at your abdomen,” Evans said once he finished with the removal of the stitches. “Lift your shirt,” he instructed before examining Ed’s ribs once the blonde had done as he was told. Ed flinched involuntarily as Evans poked his broken ribs but Evans didn’t look displeased when he finished his examination. “Another month or so and they’ll be healed perfectly. Probably longer in your case since you tend to find trouble even when you’re already injured,” Evans said blandly and Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“I keep telling you; it’s not my fault criminals are idiots,” Ed said as Evans carefully pulled the bandage covering the gash on the right side of his abdomen.

 

“I’m sure there’s less dangerous ways for you subdue your targets,” Evans said pointedly and Ed shrugged.

 

“Yeah, but there’s no challenge in that,” Ed informed him, grinning widely as both Evans and Al rolled their eyes in tandem.

 

“I’m happy with how this wound is healing as well,” Evans told him, ignoring the comment Ed had made, choosing to get back to his job, “however, I’d like for you to keep the stitches in for a few more days.” Evans paused as he thought something over. “In fact, why don’t you come back in five days? I believe that by that stage, your bullet wound and abdomen wound will be healed enough to warrant the stitches being removed and I’d like to check your neck wound again,” Evans said and Ed sighed before nodding.

 

“I suppose that means the month-long ban on missions is still in effect?” He asked, obviously already knowing the answer.

 

“Not unless they’re strictly research or have no chance in resulting in a physical altercation,” Evans told him and Ed groaned in annoyance.

 

“I’ll make sure he follows your orders, Doctor Evans,” Alphonse swore when Ed didn’t immediately agree to follow what Evans had said.

 

“I was gonna agree!” Ed exclaimed defensively, looking cross when Al laughed at him. Even Evans seemed amused and Ed did not appreciate that either.

 

“You can get dressed, Edward,” Evans told him and Ed flushed slightly as he realised he’d forgotten. “I’ll be writing your commanding officer a note, explaining my instructions and to inform him that you are to stay off missions until I clear you,” Evans told him as Ed dressed.

 

“Dammit, that means we have to go visit the office now,” Ed whined and Al didn’t reprimand him for his tone because he didn’t look too thrilled about the idea either. Evans was going to ask before deciding he didn’t care.

 

“Just keep yourself out of any trouble that could have you wind back up in here,” Evans said, knowing it would likely be asking too much.

 

“No promises, doc,” Ed said, giving him a cheeky grin and Evans wondered if it was too late to get in on the hospital betting pool where the winner was the one who correctly guessed the amount of time that would pass before Ed was next admitted. 

* * *

 

“Edward, Alphonse,” Hawkeye blinked in surprise once the two blondes entered the office, “we weren’t expecting you in today.” Ed and Al gave her a shrug and smile.

 

“We just got back from seeing the doctor and we have a note for General Mustang so we thought we might as well drop it off while we were out,” Al explained and Hawkeye nodded.

 

“The general is in a meeting with General Brathwaite right now but I’d be happy to take the note and make sure he sees it,” Hawkeye told them. Ed was happy enough that their confrontation with Mustang wouldn’t be happening today and handed the note over. Hawkeye raised her brow at his obvious relief but decided to leave it. “I see you’re out of your sling and your stitches removed, Alphonse,” she nodded to the younger blonde who wasn’t surprised in the slightest that Hawkeye had noticed that. “I take it your doctor is happy with how your injuries are healing?” Hawkeye asked and both boys nodded.

 

“Yes, I had my stitches removed and Brother had the stitches in his calf and the cut on his arm removed. Doctor Evans wants him to remain on medical leave for a month still. He said he’ll advise General Mustang on his thoughts for when Brother can return to active duty after his next check-up, which is in five days,” Al informed her, ignoring Ed’s eyeroll at him.

 

“I could’ve told them myself, you know?” Ed asked before dismissing Al’s unvoiced retort. “Is there anything we need to do before we leave?” Hawkeye contemplated his question before nodding slightly.

 

“Yes,” she said, “the two of you can head to the office next door with Lieutenant Havoc and introduce yourself to our new co-workers.” Havoc looked thrilled to be leaving the office, even for a small amount of time.

 

“Alright, well, we’ll do that then go back to Miss Gracia’s afterwards so we’ll see you guys later,” Ed said, moving to join Havoc at the front door where he was waiting when Al made an exclamation of realisation.

 

“Oh! Miss Gracia wants to know what day would suit everyone to come over for dinner,” Al told them and Ed found himself glad that Al had come along because he forgot all about that.

 

“I’ll have to ask the general when he comes back but this coming weekend would be suitable for me,” Hawkeye said before giving everyone else a pointed look.

 

“I can make it,” Fuery said and Breda nodded in agreement.

 

“As can I,” Falman told them and Havoc gave them a bright grin.

 

“You know I’ll always clear my schedule for one of Gracia’s home-cooked meals,” he said and everyone who wasn’t Hawkeye or Falman rolled their eyes.

 

“I’ll call Gracia later tonight with General Mustang’s answer,” Hawkeye promised the boys.

 

“Okay, that would be great. Thanks, Miss Riza,” Ed said with a smile. Hawkeye gave him a smile back, pairing it with a simple nod. “See you guys later,” Ed said again, giving everyone a wave as Al did the same next to him.

 

“Bye, Ed. Bye, Al,” the team chorused as Havoc led them out of the office, closing the door firmly shut behind them.

 

“So, anything we should know about the new team?” Ed asked as they made the short journey to the adjoining office. Havoc chuckled.

 

“No, they’re good soldiers,” Havoc assured him and Ed nodded. He hadn’t met with Andrews an awful lot, never having needed to unless he happened to run into him in the corridor or accompanied Mustang on the rare occasion he was on the base when Mustang needed to see Andrews, which meant he hadn’t actually interacted with Andrews team beyond more than the expected polite hellos and goodbyes. Havoc knocked on the door and opened it when a woman called for them to enter.

 

“Good afternoon, Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert,” Havoc greeted. “I apologise for interrupting your afternoon of unpacking and settling in but I’d like to formally introduce the two team members who were missing this morning.” Lambert and the five other team members in the room looked up in interest and, upon recognising Edward, gave him friendly smiles.

 

“It’s no problem, Lieutenant Havoc,” Lambert assured him as she walked forward, hand out for Ed to take. “It’s good seeing you again, Lieutenant-Colonel Elric,” she smiled warmly. “Congratulations on your promotion.” Ed held back a groan that Lambert seemed to still hear as she had to hold back a grin of amusement.

 

“Thank you,” he said, releasing her hand. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to until now but I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about General Andrews.” Lambert’s eyes misted slightly as she nodded.

 

“Thank you, Edward,” Lambert said, using his name now that the initial greeting was out of the way. “Also, thank you for uncovering the real criminal. We’re pleased that General Andrews can rest easy knowing the real killer is soon to be behind bars.” Ed nodded as the five other members of Lambert’s team expressed their own gratitude.

 

“It was team effort,” Ed told them before grabbing Al and dragging him forward. “Anyway, I don’t think any of you have met my little brother, Alphonse, yet,” Ed said, hoping to move the topic off of Mustang and Andrews. No one called him out on it and they all focused on Alphonse.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I look forward to working with you in the future,” Al said, giving them a genuine smile as he made eye contact with everyone.

 

“The pleasure is ours,” Lambert said, extending her hand for Al. “I’m Lieutenant-Colonel Eloise Lambert but feel free to call me Lambert,” she said before pulling her hand from Al’s grip. “Allow me to introduce the rest of my team,” she said before pointing to a man with cropped, brunette hair and a tanned complexion. “This is Captain Anthony Hurd.”

 

“Pleased to meet you,” the man said, nodding to them.

 

“1st Lieutenant Ryan Greene,” Lambert introduced the next team member, an extremely blonde-haired man with a seemingly permanent smile. The man waved and the boys waved back. “Next to him is 2nd Lieutenant Amaya Mason.” The only other woman in the room nodded, causing her long, vibrant red ponytail to bob slightly. “Over by the bookshelves is Sergeant Brian Valentin.” The youngest team member – Ed thought he might’ve been around Fuery’s age – smiled at them and they smiled back. “Last, but not least, is Warrant Officer Darren Simon,” Lambert said, nodding to the final team member. The no-nonsense looking man nodded curtly in their direction.

 

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Alphonse said warmly, giving the room a big smile.

 

“You, as well,” Lambert said, smiling before giving them an apologetic look. “I am sorry to ask but we are busy trying to get our new office organised before we’re expected to work in the morning. As much as I’d love to ask you to stay so everyone has the chance to get to know one another, we don’t really have the time,” Lambert said, voice asking them to understand.

 

“It’s no problem, lieutenant-colonel,” Havoc assured her. “Captain Hawkeye has asked me to pass along a message from General Mustang.” Lambert and the team all shifted a little where they stood or sat, giving Havoc their undivided attention. “He asks that you notify him of a night where all of you would be available to join our team for dinner so that our teams can get to know one another better,” he told them and Lambert nodded. Ed wanted to ask Havoc whether Hawkeye was the one who actually came up with the idea.

 

“Once we’ve settled into our routine again, I’ll inform General Mustang of a day that suits us and go from there,” Lambert told him. “Please thank him for his generous offer.” Havoc nodded his agreement to do so.

 

“We’ll get out of your hair now and let you get back to sorting your new office out. Please remember that if you need some help, we’d be happy to provide it,” Havoc said and Lambert nodded in thanks.

 

“We’ll let you know if we do,” Lambert said before giving Ed and Al her attention. “It was a pleasure to see you again, Edward, and to meet you, Alphonse. I look forward to working with the both of you,” Lambert told them.

 

“So do we,” Alphonse said before Ed could say anything. “Have a good afternoon, Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert and team.”

 

“See you guys later,” Ed said with a small wave. Mustang’s newly appointed team said their own goodbyes and Al made sure the door closed behind them.

 

“They seemed really nice,” Alphonse commented as they walked the short distance back to their original office doors.

 

“From the little interaction I’ve had with them, I’ve no reason to disagree with you,” Ed said casually.

 

“Well, we’ll soon see if you’re both right,” Havoc said as he came to a stop outside the outer office doors. “Have a good afternoon, you two. Try not to get in any trouble, chief.” Ed rolled his eyes as Havoc chuckled.

 

“No promises,” Ed said, echoing his response when Doctor Evans had asked the same thing of him. “By the way, how pissed is Mustang?” Ed asked and Havoc chuckled again, which did not give Alphonse or Edward any reason to think they would be safe from retribution in the near future.

 

“He came up with some creative insults that you would’ve been proud of, chief, but I think if you can find a reason to not be in his eyesight for the next couple of days, you should be safe,” Havoc told them with an amused grin.

 

“Thanks for the warning,” Ed said with a matching grin. “We’ll see you later, Havoc.”

 

“Bye, Lieutenant Havoc,” Al said, giving him a small wave.

 

“See you two around,” Havoc said with a nod. The brothers grinned at him before heading down the corridor. Havoc watched them leave before entering the office, now ready to get back to his work. 

* * *

 

Fuhrer Grumman watched as his clock steadily ticked towards the agreed upon time for his meeting with Generals Widdon and Combes. Grumman had wished he could’ve been surprised when they’d decided to show up unannounced only a few minutes after Mustang and his group had left to try and have the meeting with Grumman moved. Knowing that they were worried about the reason for the meeting and recognising their request as an avoidance tactic, Grumman had refused and ordered them to show up at the arranged time. A few minutes past the hour, a firm knock came at the door. “Enter,” Grumman called and nodded to Samantha in greeting as she led the generals inside.

 

“Brigadier-Generals Widdon and Combes are here for your meeting, Your Excellency,” Samantha announced as Widdon and Combes walked to stand behind the chairs and saluted Grumman. He made them hold them as he responded to Samantha.

 

“Thank you. You may leave,” he dismissed her. He waved the generals out of their salutes once the inner office doors were closed behind his secretary. “I have several other meetings to get to today so I’ll be making this one as quick as possible.” He saw Widdon and Combes exchange a worried glance.

 

“Of course, Fuhrer Grumman.” Widdon stood at attention, as did Combes. Both generals seemed to sense that this meeting was definitely going to be happening whether they wanted it to or not.

 

“I’m sure that you remember that this meeting was called to discuss some occurrences that were brought to my attention during Lieutenant-Colonel Elric’s investigation into the crimes former Major Leah Belmont has been charged with,” Grumman informed them and felt no small amount of pleasure when both generals seemed to pale slightly.

 

“Forgive me, Fuhrer Grumman, but if this is about how we acted upon hearing the news about Lieutenant-General Armstrong and her doctor’s health plan for her –“ Widdon started, obviously trying to divert Grumman’s attention to behaviour they’d already been reprimanded for to try and avoid Grumman talking about the behaviour they hadn’t been punished for yet.

 

“No, I have received calls and messages from Doctor Evans on behalf of himself and his staff and from retired Major-General Armstrong on behalf of himself and his family that have told me how you followed through with my orders well-enough for me to consider that matter dealt with,” Grumman informed him.

 

“I apologise than, Your Excellency, because I’m not sure what other instances you could be referring too,” Widdon told him, though the glance he and Combes exchanged and obviously thought Grumman wouldn’t notice told the Fuhrer that his claim was a blatant lie.

 

“I’m sure you don’t,” Grumman said coolly. “However, I am more than happy to help you jog your memory,” Grumman informed them. “Let’s start with the obvious issue of your blatant disregard for how the justice system in this country works under my rule and your disgusting agenda of trying to twist that justice system to your advantage so you could rid yourself of someone you saw as a personal enemy, even if it meant letting the real killer walk free and not getting justice for the victims.” Grumman didn’t exactly snarl but it was a close thing.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman, according to all the evidence we had at the time, the only person it could’ve been was Brigadier-General Mustang. We merely followed what the evidence told us,” Widdon said, defending both of them.

 

“No, you elected to ignore any evidence that didn’t support the theory that Mustang was innocent and focused completely on trying to find any scrap of evidence, no matter how circumstantial, that would prove Mustang’s guilt in your minds,” Grumman snapped. “You continually ignored the fact that Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes was in charge of the investigation and you continually threw your rank around to take over the investigation, like you did when you initially tried to interview Lieutenant-General Armstrong, so you could try and force the evidence or witnesses into pointing towards Mustang. Not only did you do all of that but once it became apparent that General Mustang was likely to be released, you barged into my office, interrupting a meeting with Lieutenant-Colonel Elric and proceeded to maliciously slander his and his brother’s names in one last-ditch attempt to keep General Mustang in jail for your personal reasons.”

 

“You signed the arrest warrant, Sir. You wouldn’t have done that if you hadn’t believed him guilty,” Combes said, speaking for the first time since he entered the office.

 

“I signed the arrest warrant because the circumstantial evidence against Mustang was too much to ignore. That does not mean I ever once thought him to be guilty,” Grumman informed him coldly. “However, despite the fact that I think your actions were despicable, I cannot punish you for it as what you did was only immoral and unethical, not illegal. Having said that, I am sure you understand the social implication that behaviour will have on you in the future. Since you were so forcible in telling everyone Mustang was guilty, no one will take you seriously when you accuse anyone – especially Mustang or the Fullmetal Alchemist – of any illegal activities and your standing amongst the military officers of every rank has dropped significantly.” Neither Widdon nor Combes looked happy about having this pointed out.

 

“Sir, I must ask that if you only arranged this meeting to rub our failure in our faces that you show some mercy and allow us to leave. We are very well aware of the humiliation that awaits us,” Widdon said, keeping his voice level and professional.

 

“No, it isn’t so you may not leave,” Grumman informed them, destroying any hope they had. “As I said, I cannot punish you for that behaviour, however you may remember me mentioning that there were a couple of things brought to my attention and those are what this meeting is about.”

 

“Sir, whatever we did, we apologise sincerely for our actions,” Widdon tried saying, Combes muttering his own apology from where he stood next to his fellow general but Grumman had had enough.

 

“Be quiet,” Grumman ordered snappishly and both Widdon and Combes closed their mouths, looking slightly stunned. It wasn’t often that Grumman allowed himself to show his anger so obviously. “The first action we are going to discuss are the orders you placed regarding Mustang’s visitors while he was incarcerated the day you lost your case in front of the generals and Fullmetal.” Grumman watched as Widdon and Combes started realising where he was going with this. “I remember specifically ordering that General Mustang was to be treated with the same rights and dignities all other prisoners were given. That includes access to visitors unless he had proven to be a danger to any visitor. I know that he had never shown any aggression or other reason for there to be a ban placed which means you willingly and knowingly went against my orders to try and get some retribution for the fact that the meeting earlier that day hadn’t gone your way,” Grumman stated and both Widdon and Combes started looking far more worried.

 

“Your Excellency, we apologise. We can only claim that our distress at the decision the generals had made earlier that day had impaired our judgement and that we acted irrationally,” Widdon said, obviously trying to salvage the situation.

 

“No, I’ll agree that the decision made earlier that day would’ve disappointed you but the two of you are grown men, not toddlers, and I would’ve expected you to have handled the decision with far more poise than you obviously did,” Grumman snapped. “What you did was planned. You had time between the decision being made to when you placed that call to give those orders to get over yourselves and instead you decided to act like spoiled seven-year-olds. I’m starting to notice a disturbing trend about the two of you when it comes to receiving news you don’t want to hear,” Grumman said coolly and felt a vindicated pleasure when both men flushed slightly.

 

“Because you wilfully disobeyed my direct orders in this matter, you will be disciplined accordingly,” Grumman informed them, showing no emotion on his face. “I have decided not to strip either of you of your ranks, nor have I decided to demote you. The order you broke wasn’t significant enough to warrant such actions,” he saw them let out a breath of relief before continuing, “so your punishment is as follows: the both of you will be placed on forced leave with no pay, starting from tomorrow morning. The forced leave will last until former Major Belmont’s trial is concluded and her sentence has been handed down. Should the whole process last longer than a month, your forced leave will continue however you shall receive half the wage you would ordinarily make for the period it takes for the sentence to handed down after the first month.” As expected, both men protested vehemently against his decision.

 

“Fuhrer Grumman, I must protest!” Widdon exclaimed.

 

“This is bullshit. Just because Mustang is so obviously your favourite,” Combes growled and Grumman levelled them with the most unimpressed expression he could muster.

 

“Would you prefer me to demote both of you back to your previous rank or dismiss you entirely from the military? Trust me, I won’t face much resistance from the other officers if I do take either of those routes,” Grumman snarled and their silence was better than a verbal answer. “That’s what I thought,” Grumman scoffed. “This decision isn’t up for debate. The two of you went against my order with malicious intent and you will be facing disciplinary actions for that. There is nothing you can say or do that will get me to let you off the hook for your actions.”  Widdon and Combes glowered in anger as they realised Grumman was being completely serious and that this would be happening no matter what they did.

 

“The next thing is the spiteful and deliberate slandering of both Elric brothers I mentioned earlier,” Grumman told them coolly. “You both barged into my office like you owned it then spat baseless accusations against both Elric brothers then against my granddaughter – none of whom had done anything that so much as bent a military rule or law during the whole investigation – in your pathetic and blatant attempt to keep an innocent man in jail just so you wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore.” Both generals looked appropriately fearful as Grumman waited a few moments, letting them stew. “For your actions regarding this manner the two of you will be making an extremely public statement in front of the press conference I have taking the liberty to arrange for the two of you tomorrow morning and the two of you will be apologising for the lies you tried to pander. I will then be announcing the reasons behind your forced leave as I did promise the public complete transparency.”

 

“Sir, I really must protest this punishment! We’ve apologised –“ Widdon just arguing while Combes looked like he was deciding between going into a rant or joining Widdon’s protest.

 

“I know you’ve not offered Lieutenant-Colonel Elric an apology because he would have told me about you doing so. The same would’ve happened if you’d only apologised to his brother or Captain Hawkeye. Do not start trying to lie to me already,” Grumman growled and the generals knew that there was no way they would be able to try and talk their way out of any punishment Grumman gave them.

 

“If that is all, Sir, then General Combes and I humbly ask to leave so we can prepare our offices for our absence,” Widdon’s voice wasn’t as professional as he obviously wanted and Grumman could detect notes of anger and humiliation in his tone.

 

“No, there is one more thing I need to talk to you about, specifically you, General Widdon,” Grumman said. “I believe a Miss Eleanor Turner is your secretary, yes?” Widdon looked startled at the question but nodded.

 

“Yes, she is. She’s been in my employ for the past three years,” Widdon told him, glancing at Combes who looked just as bewildered as Widdon was. Grumman nodded like he hadn’t expected another answer.

 

“She has a sister – a Miss Deborah Turner – am I correct?” Once again, Widdon nodded but this time it was done much slower than before and Grumman knew that the general knew what he was about to ask. “One of the specialised consultants made me aware of this and I already have questioned and received confirmation from both sisters that the consultant was telling me the truth so I would appreciate your honesty when you answer my next question,” Grumman told Widdon. “Have you been ordering Miss Eleanor Turner to call her sister, Miss Deborah Turner, a journalist for The Amestrian Times, and pass along classified or incorrect information for her sister to publish?”

 

“Yes, Your Excellency, I have been,” Widdon ground out, having made the smart decision to tell the truth since Grumman obviously already knew the truth anyway.

 

“I’m sure you’re aware that any information given to the press about open cases is to be given only by the lead investigator or whoever the lead investigator orders to do so,” Grumman said and Widdon couldn’t help but nod, despite it not being a question. “I’m also certain you’re aware of the fact that you were _not_ the lead investigator for the investigation involving General Mustang which means you had no right to be passing information along to the press about an open case without Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes’ express permission.” Again, this wasn’t presented as a question but Widdon couldn’t stop himself from nodding.

 

“I’m aware, Your Excellency,” Widdon said with the air of someone who knew they were about to get into more trouble.

 

“Good. I would hate to have to waste my time explaining the most basic and well-known rules to the two of you,” Grumman said shortly. “You’ll discover when you return to your office that Miss Eleanor Turner is no longer under your employ. I’ve ordered two soldiers to inform her of the loss of her job and to escort her off the base once she had cleared her desk. They are undoubtedly doing as they were asked right this minute. I will be personally assigning a new secretary to your office and I will personally see that they learn every single rule.” Grumman could tell Widdon was practically chewing on his tongue to stop himself from lashing out at him.

 

“Upon your return from your forced leave, the two of you find yourselves under intense scrutiny for six months. Consider it a probationary period,” Grumman said. “If any evidence comes to light of either of you engaging in illegal activities during these six months, you will be dishonourably discharged and placed on trial, depending on the severity of your crimes,” Grumman informed them bluntly and predictably, both generals bristled at this.

 

“Sir, there is no need for that kind of action to be taken! We’ve nothing to hide and we’re certainly not going to repeat the mistakes we made while emotionally compromised,” Widdon exclaimed, trying to appease Grumman enough that he would change his mind, at least when it came to the six-month probationary period.

 

“You lecture us about throwing our rank about then you turn around and do it yourself! This is a blatant abuse of your power and you know it,” Combes spat. “You have no reason to place such ridiculous restrictions on us! This is just you trying to get us back for being brave enough to speak what everyone else had been thinking; Mustang was guilty!”

 

“I suggest you hold your tongue, General Combes, unless you wish to make this situation far more unpleasant for you than it already is.” Grumman’s tone told the general that it wouldn’t be a smart move to try and push him further and the look on the Fuhrer’s face told Combes that he’d regret voicing what he’d opened his mouth to say.

 

“Now, I’ve already told you that none of this is up for debate. The two of you will speak to the public about the lies you tried to pass as truth about the Elric brothers and Captain Hawkeye before you’ll go on unpaid forced leave for the period of one month tomorrow morning. You will then be on half-paid forced leave once that month is over until former Major Belmont is sentenced. Once you are allowed to resume your duties, you will be placed on a six-month probationary period. Is this understood?” He stared at the generals until they both nodded reluctantly. He didn’t bother revealing that the secretary he would hire for Widdon and Combes’ current secretary would both be given orders from Grumman himself to report back to him every afternoon on what the generals had done for that day without telling the generals what they were doing.

 

“Perfectly, Your Excellency,” Widdon said, voice emotionless as he accepted his fate.

 

“Crystal clear, Sir,” Combes ground out, his humiliation written all over his face and in his voice. Grumman ignored both their tones and nodded once.

 

“Good. Then the only reason I should see on the base until your forced leave is over is if I request your presence for a meeting,” Grumman informed them. “Now that I’ve discussed everything I need to with the both of you, you can get out of my office. You will receive phone calls to let you know when you’re allowed back on base and the time of the press conference. Dismissed.” Grumman didn’t make them hold their salutes for as long as he had when they’d entered earlier but he did make them hold them for longer than he ordinarily would’ve.

 

Once the salutes were waved away, both officers slunk out of his office, slamming the door slightly shut behind them. Grumman walked back to sit behind his desk once more, shaking his head at the generals attitudes. Truth be told, he was glad he wouldn’t have to deal with them for the next month, at the very least. Sighing in relief, he picked up his phone and called Samantha to inform her he would be busy for the next ten or so minutes before hanging up on her and dialling the extension for Mustang’s office. He figured both Mustang and Edward would like to know what had just happened, though he was positive there’d be some griping from Edward that he couldn’t have been there in person. He grinned at the image that created as the phone rang before it clicked, indicating it had been picked up and he heard his granddaughter’s voice on the other end. 

* * *

 

_Three days after arriving back in Central…_

 

Mustang’s original team had arrived at Gracia’s home right on time for them to help her set up the table so it would fit all of them, the two Elrics and the two Hughes’. Mustang himself arrived just as the work was finishing up, earning a glare from Hawkeye and Gracia and an eyeroll and muttered comment about avoiding work from Edward. Mustang had sent him a glare before catching Elysia as she threw herself at him and handed over the bottle of wine he’d brought to Gracia.

 

“Thank you, Roy. This was very sweet of you,” Gracia said as she accepted the bottle with a smile.

 

“Well, I figured you might need it after having dealt with Fullmetal for so long,” Mustang said, earning an offended ‘hey!’ from the blonde.

 

“Edward is absolutely no trouble at all. Far less than you when you and Maes used to come back here after a night out, that’s for sure,” Gracia informed him, causing Ed to cackle and Mustang to flush.

 

“Gracia!” Mustang whined as Ed continued laughing until he let out a grunt of pain when Alphonse hit him upside the head.

 

The blonde stopped laughing but had started fighting with his brother instead, the younger Elric allowing himself to be caught up in the banter. Mustang had been about to separate them but Elysia wriggled out of his grip and bounded over to them to stop them herself. Mustang wondered if she could teach him how she did it because she’d barely said anything and both boys were behaving.

 

“Do you need a hand with anything, Gracia, or can I steal Fullmetal for a few moments?” Mustang asked. Ed shot him a suspicious look but Gracia shook her head.

 

“No, I have everything handled here,” she told him. “I’m sure I can ask some of the others for help if I need it anyway,” Gracia said, looking significantly in the direction of her lounge room, where the majority of his team was currently sitting.

 

“We shouldn’t be too long,” Mustang said before giving Ed a pointed look. Ed rolled his eyes, grabbed Al’s arm and hauled him up the stairs behind him, heading for their bedroom. Mustang followed, jerking his head at Hawkeye in a silent request for her to come with. She fell into step behind him.

 

“Alright, what do you want?” Ed asked once Hawkeye had closed the bedroom door behind herself. Neither brother looked surprised that she was in the room with them and Mustang.

 

“Two things,” Mustang told him. “Firstly, I would appreciate it if sometime during the next week either you or Alphonse pay the office a visit so you can alchemise a set of doors between my personal office and the inner office to be used by Lieutenant-Colonel Lambert and a set of doors between the two outer offices for easier access between the two teams.”

 

“I’m sure we can manage that, General Mustang,” Alphonse said before Ed could tease Mustang about not being able to do it himself.

 

“What Al said,” Ed grunted. “What was the second thing?” Ed asked, ignoring Al’s eyeroll.

 

“To discuss your training schedule,” Mustang answered promptly. When Ed’s face went blank, Mustang rolled his eyes. “For learning flame alchemy,” he said and Ed’s mouth opened in a silent ‘oh’.

 

“Before you discuss that, I would like to know if you’ve done what I asked of you?” Hawkeye asked, looking straight at Ed, who nodded.

 

“Yeah, Al agreed,” Ed told her, Al nodding in agreement beside him and she nodded in satisfaction. At Ed’s gesture, both Hawkeye and Mustang sat on Al’s bed, since the boys had claimed Ed’s bed.

 

“The first thing we need to do is create a pair of gloves for you, as well as a spare set,” Mustang said before contemplating something. “Maybe something made out of a more durable material for if you need to create your automail blade while wearing them.”

 

“I still have my two spare sets of gloves I created while on the Castle-ship,” Ed said before getting up and rifling through one of his drawers and producing the black and red pair that he’d had no reason to wear since he hadn’t managed to destroy his white pair yet. He handed them over to Mustang for his inspection.

 

“We can test them with the special ignition coating I use and see if it sticks to them. If it doesn’t, we’ll have to find another material,” Mustang said, tossing the gloves back at Ed.

 

“Yeah, well, whatever material we use, I want the stitched array to be the same colour as the material,” Ed said and Mustang raised an amused brow.

 

“Trying to show your fashion sense?” He teased and Ed rolled his eyes.

 

“Even if someone doesn’t recognise the array, most people think ‘flame alchemy’ when they see an alchemist wearing a pair of gloves with a red array stitched onto it. On the off chance I ever have to use flame alchemy against someone who _does_ know what your array looks like, I wanna make it a bit harder for them to figure out what I’m about to do,” Ed explained. “Not everyone can be as flashy as you, Mustang,” Ed snarked.

 

“Back on the subject, please,” Hawkeye said warningly before Mustang could retort back. He did glare at Edward before smoothing his expression.

 

“Once we have your gloves sorted out, I’d like to start your training with you coming over to my house once a week. We won’t be practising there – the yard is much too small until you’ve proven you have appropriate control over the transmutation – but I’m sure I’ll be able to find a field or something similar that would be suitable for our purposes,” Mustang said. “Of course, I am aware there will be times you’ll be on missions for longer than a week but we’ll work around that as best we can. Does that sound suitable?” He asked and Ed shrugged.

 

“Considering Teacher only gave us one day to rest when she was training us, I’m fine with it,” he told him as Al rolled his eyes.

 

“We’ll see how good your instinctive control is during the first few lessons. If you aren’t making the progress I expect, we’ll increase the amount of lessons we have,” Mustang told him. Mustang gave Al an apologetic look before he went on speaking. “I can’t allow Alphonse to be present during the lessons until you’ve learned the secrets of fire alchemy well enough that I don’t have to remind you of them during lessons.” Ed didn’t look happy about that but Al was the first of them to speak.

 

“That’s fine, General Mustang. I understand. I can help Miss Gracia around here while Brother is with you,” Alphonse told him, sounding completely okay with being left out. Ed still didn’t look happy but he didn’t raise a fuss, knowing that Mustang wasn’t being malicious by leaving Al out.

 

“If you’re feeling up to it, we’ll test your gloves tomorrow. I keep everything in my home so it won’t take too long to find out if those gloves will absorb the coating properly,” Mustang said and Ed nodded. “Drop by after lunch,” Mustang instructed.

 

“Need your beauty sleep?” Ed teased.

 

“More like I need the time to prepare for you being in my home,” Mustang snarked back.

 

“ _Gentlemen,”_ Hawkeye warned, stopping their banter once more.

 

 _“Shiro could do with some pointers on stopping people from arguing from her. I swear, Lance and Keith are only at each other’s throats so much so they can drive my pilot mad,”_ Black bemoaned, causing Ed to snort.

 

“Tell Shiro all he needs to do is shoot at them when they don’t listen. That’ll learn them,” Ed told her.

 

 _“Something tells me Shiro won’t go for that,”_ Black said dryly and Ed shrugged mentally.

 

“I said all he needs to do is shoot _at_ them, not actually hit them,” Ed told her and was rewarded with her laughter.

 

 _“I’ll make sure to tell him that,”_ she chuckled and Ed grinned.

 

“I want to know his exact reaction. Promise you’ll tell me?” Ed asked.

 

 _“You know I would’ve anyway,”_ Black pointed out and Ed realised he couldn’t argue against that.

 

“Brother?” Al’s voice broke him out of his discussion and the older Elric realised he’d tuned out their conversation in favour of his conversation with Black.

 

“Sorry, talking to Black,” he told them, a little sheepishly and everyone bar Hawkeye rolled their eyes at him.

 

“We were just saying that we should go back downstairs and join everyone,” Alphonse said, not bothering to wipe the amused grin off his face, even after Ed shoved him gently.

 

“Yeah, alright,” Ed said agreeably, getting off his bed before Al could retaliate. “Let’s go.” 

* * *

 

An hour later found everyone sitting themselves around the table. Gracia had cracked open the bottle of wine Mustang had gifted her and poured everyone who wanted and could legally drink the alcohol while Ed, Al and Elysia settled for water and juice. Gracia had decided on sweet and sour chicken for dinner that night – a recipe provided by Hunk via Ed’s tablet that had become a firm favourite – and three whole apple pies that filled the home with its delicious aroma and tempted some of them into trying to skip dinner.

 

“How do you think your friends are going, Edward?” Gracia asked once everyone had served themselves some dinner.

 

“I’m sure they’re fine. Truth promised they wouldn’t suffer any consequences for their disappearances – it was part of our deal so I know it kept its word – so I imagine they spent an ungodly amount of time trying to calm Miss Penelope down and explain what had happened then listen to her complain because she couldn’t go with. Knowing them, they’re probably back to work already,” Ed told her.

 

“Really? I would’ve thought they might’ve taken a day off after everything they did for us,” Gracia said, voice obviously worried about the BAU agents and how much they worked.

 

“I don’t know for certain, Miss Gracia. They might’ve done so,” Ed tried to soothe but Gracia didn’t look overly convinced.

 

“I’m sure that no matter what they’re doing, the BAU agents are perfectly okay,” Mustang said, putting his two-cents in.

 

“Well, I suppose there’s really no point in fussing since they’re not here,” Gracia said with a small smile. Everyone could still tell it bothered her slightly that she didn’t know if the agents were looking after themselves properly. Ed seriously wished he had a way to contact the agents so he could tell them about this.

 

“I think a toast in honour of the BAU agents is in order,” Mustang said after a couple of moments, lifting his glass up. Everyone else mimicked him, including Elysia. “No matter what they’re doing, I want to thank the BAU for all of their hard work in helping all of you investigate this case and get the outcome we were all hoping for as quickly as you did. I know they aren’t here to hear any of this but I wish them well in their futures and if we ever cross paths with them again, I hope they’re all in good health and spirits. To the BAU!” Mustang saluted with his glass and everyone clinked their glasses together as best they could, chuckling at Elysia’s determination to clink her cup against everyone else’s.

 

“To the BAU!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second last chapter and the last chapter based in Amestris! I would love to know what you all think to this story and latest chapter :D


	32. Chapter 32

_Meanwhile, in America…_

Penelope Garcia had _not_ had a good week. To start with, the case her team had last worked on had taken far longer than it was expected to solve and they’d found three new victims before they’d caught up with the killer. The team was tired and annoyed and Garcia had been immensely pleased to hear they were on the plane home. She recalled the memory of their arrival with a small smile as she sat at her computers.

 

She’d made sure she had steaming hot cups of the agents preferred drinks waiting for them when they walked into the briefing room to debrief on the case and she felt a giddy pleasure when she received genuine thanks and smiles from all of them, like the small gesture had just made their whole week. She’d even made sure that JJ and Hotch had everything they would need for the debrief ready and waiting for them.

 

As always, Hotch led them through the meeting with JJ acting as his second-in-command. They went over the entire case from the moment JJ had received the files and plea from the local police department that had practically begged the FBI to send a BAU team to help them catch the person who had already claimed four lives and had shown no signs of stopping until the moment they had boarded the plane bound for Quantico, Virginia. Since he’d known how mentally exhausted everyone was, Hotch had kept the debrief as short as he could. Then the second reason her week had been less than wonderful happened just as Hotch dismissed them for the evening with orders to go home and get some rest because at that moment, Garcia’s entire vision had gone white and she scowled as she recalled what had followed.

 

_For the first few moments all she could do was blink, trying to see if maybe that would help her clear her vision. When that didn’t work, she felt her heart start picking up pace and her breathing quicken slightly. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she almost jumped a foot in the air before she spun around quickly to figure out who was touching her._

_“Are you alright, baby girl?” Morgan asked and Garcia immediately felt herself calm down as she realised that her entire team was in what she now knew was a white room._

_“I am now that I’ve got you here to protect me,” Garcia said, voice not quite as teasing as she wanted. In fact, she sounded down-right terrified and by the looks of it, Morgan was just as scared._

_“Always, darlin’.” Morgan gave her a smile before pulling her in so she was huddled up to his side and they were facing everyone else. “Are you all good?” Morgan asked and received nods from everyone._

_“Where are we? How did we get here?” Reid asked, craning his neck to look all around. “Are those a set of doors?” He asked, looking over everyone else’s shoulder and nodding in the direction he was looking when he noticed the puzzled faces._

_“I don’t know,” Hotch said as he looked at the doors with an unsure expression. “I don’t think we should touch them though. Something’s not right.” No one bothered to argue with him and Garcia knew it was because they were getting the same hinky vibes from this whole situation._

_“Very clever, Agent Hotchner.” Garcia had never seen the team move so quickly. In the same amount of time it took for Morgan to pull her behind him, everyone had drawn their weapon and were aiming it in the direction the spine-chilling voice had come from. When she managed to peek out from behind Morgan, Garcia’s eyes widened in shock and she vaguely noted that the six weapons being held on the being in front of them lowered slightly as their users tried to process what they were seeing as well._

_“What are you?” Reid asked and the being hummed as it placed a finger to its chin, contemplating the answer. Garcia was still struggling to get over the fact that it had no distinguishable features other than a basic human outline and a mouth that it stretched into a grin, making Garcia’s skin crawl._

_“I am known by many names,” the being said, “but I am sure you’ve heard of me by our mutual acquaintance. I am Truth,” it told them, grinning even wider._

_“You’re the being that Edward told us about,” Reid said and Garcia felt the usual mix of sadness and longing to see her favourite blonde alchemist again that she felt whenever his name was mentioned._

_“Ah, yes, our mutual acquaintance,” Truth said, its grin turning sharper. “I certainly couldn’t have predicted just how much use his connection with all of you would be to me when I sent him and the flame alchemist to your world all those months ago.”_

_“Why are we here?” Hotch asked. “We know from Edward that no one can access your dimension without an array and none of us have the ability or the knowledge to be able to transmute ourselves here.”_

_“You are correct, Agent Hotchner,” Truth said, grinning like Hotch had said something extremely amusing. “However, you are also wrong. I am able to summon those of my choosing to my world when I require something of them.”_

_“So, what do you need from us?” Rossi asked, watching the being suspiciously and that’s when Garcia noticed that none of the agents had lowered their weapons, not that Truth looked overly worried about it._

_“What I require of you does not involve all of your members,” Truth said and despite the fact it had no eyes, Garcia could’ve sworn Truth was staring right at her. “I will only be sending six of you where I require your services. The place you’ll be going is not suitable for your technical analyst and I would hate for her to get bored. She will be sent back to your world so that she can use her skills for more important things,” it informed them, sounding almost dismissive of Garcia and she felt herself bristle at its tone._

_“Where are we going that Garcia’s skillset would be ineffective?” Hotch asked and Truth grinned again like it thought Hotch had said something clever._

_“I’ll be sending you to our mutual acquaintances world!” Truth announced like it was some major prize on a gameshow. The agents and Garcia looked a mix of excited and suspicious._

_“Why?” Prentiss asked and Truth hummed as it contemplated its words._

_“Recent events have set Amestris on a course that will soon require my intervention if I don’t want to lose one of the only countries that bothered to acknowledge my existence,” Truth explained flippantly. “When it gets to the point where I would need to start correcting things to get the world back on track, it will require immense effort on my behalf and I don’t want to expend that energy so I decided to enlist the six of you to help our young alchemist right this wrong,” Truth told them, seemingly unfazed by the gob-smacked looks on everyone’s face._

_“You’re sending us to another world so you don’t have to do any work?” Morgan asked incredulously and Truth nodded._

_“Yes,” it grinned, “but like I said; I have no use for your technical analyst in Amestris so she will not be going with you. I suggest you put your skillset to good use the moment you get back,” Truth told her, somehow managing to look directly at Garcia without having physical eyes and sending chills down her spine once more. She hadn’t been able to get a word out to try and argue for the being to let her visit Amestris so she could see Ed when she found herself back in the meeting room, in the exact same spot she had been standing when they were all kidnapped._

 

She found herself strangling her pink, sparkly pen with the fluffy end as she pulled herself out of the memory. It had been over a week since her friends and team had been kidnapped. She’d continued showing up for work as scheduled and tried to hide her increasing concern whenever someone asked where one of the missing agents was. She’d made sure to provide numerous other BAU teams with the best technical help she could give them, made sure her work was as flawless as ever but she could feel her fear for her team grow with each passing hour.

 

She’d done as Truth had suggested as soon as she’d been able to pull herself together and started creating cover stories for each agent to explain their absence but it didn’t help her worry and she was certain someone was going to see through her extremely well-crafted lies. She’d even had to talk to Assistant Director Erin Strauss when she had come looking for Hotch and either hadn’t received or hadn’t believed the email Garcia had sent in answer to Strauss’ original inquiring one. Garcia had honestly believed she was trembling so much that Strauss was sure to notice her deceit but the stern woman had merely given her a curt nod before leaving her alone in her office with only her computers for company.

 

Despite her best efforts during the first few hours of her return from Truth’s world, Garcia’s reason number three for why this week was horrible had happened. She’d completely forgotten about the fact that her friends had families who were expecting them home and would be worried when they didn’t show up when expected. The call from JJ’s fiancé, Will LaMontagne, had been the startling wake-up call she needed. With Henry only a few months old, naturally Will was growing frantic when the time JJ had said she’d be home had passed without so much as a text from his fiancée explaining why she wasn’t home.

 

Once she had managed to convince Will not to call for a search party without revealing where JJ and the others really were, she immediately started phoning everyone else she needed to. With Hayley gone, Jack was in Hotch’s custody but she knew that Hayley’s sister, Jessica, was the person Hotch normally called to babysit for him so she called her and told her that Hotch and the team had been pulled into a high-priority case and would be unreachable for the foreseeable future. When Jessica had questioned how she would get a hold of Hotch if something happened, Garcia had instructed her to call her directly. For Morgan and Prentiss, it was simply a case of calling their mothers and telling them what she’d told Jessica. For Rossi, she called his publishing agent and asked her to pass along the message to anyone she thought needed to know. For Reid, Garcia had called the hospital his mother lived in and spoke to her head doctor.

 

With the families of her team now taken care of, Garcia could now focus on her work and the steadily increasing guilt she felt at lying to everyone. Sometimes, though, she found herself angry and jealous of her team because they were in Amestris with Edward and Mustang while she was stuck in Quantico trying to keep some of the sharpest people from finding out about them disappearing.

 

She was forever grateful for Abby, the forensic scientist from NCIS they’d met when Edward and Mustang had appeared the second time, in those moments because she was able to talk with her about it. Both women were upset that they wouldn’t be able to talk to the alchemists but they found comfort in one another, despite the physical distance, and Garcia found herself able to bitch to DiNozzo and McGee as well during some of her video chats with Abby.

 

As the days dragged by, she gained reasons four, five and six for why she hated this week in particular. She’d had some poor young intern run into her, spilling the four cups of coffee she’d been carrying all over Garcia’s favourite yellow dress only to have the intern’s boss turn around and berate Garcia for being in the way in the same breath the pretentious arse had berated the young intern in. Then her car’s battery had chosen to go flat the next day so she would discover it after having worked nearly three hours longer than expected so she’d had to call AAA for help, who had taken an extra two hours because they’d gotten lost then had to get through security.

 

To wrap up the week, she’d walked into work late – thanks to the fact she’d overslept because of the overtime and AAA taking so long – then collapsed in her chair only to find that someone else had used her office during her absence and had messed with her system. At that point it was all she could do not to go into a rage and start hitting things. Instead, she’d taken a deep breath, then taken three more when the first one didn’t calm her down, fixed her systems and got to work. At this point, the agents had been gone exactly one week and Will was rapidly getting sick of hearing Garcia’s assurances that everything was fine and that JJ would be back soon. She’d wanted to tell the man the truth, wanted someone who she could talk to face-to-face about her worry for her team but when she’d mentioned the names of the two alchemists to Will, it was clear from his response that JJ hadn’t told him the whole story.

 

A week had passed since she’d first met Truth and Garcia’s team still wasn’t home. Garcia couldn’t help that her unease increased almost triple to what it had been before. She knew that Ed and Mustang hadn’t spent more than a week in America at a time and the fact that her team wasn’t back by now had her worried. She then berated herself for thinking that Ed and Mustang’s visit lengths were the norm for inter-dimensional travel. Just because they’d returned home before a week had passed didn’t mean that Hotch, Morgan and the others would but her rationality didn’t do anything to ease her worry.

 

Day eight of their absence passed in much the same way as the rest of the week had. It was now the start of a new week and it hadn’t given Garcia any reasons so far to hate it as much as she’d hated the previous week, aside from the lack of six BAU agents. Will had called the previous night and asked Garcia over for dinner and to talk, which she had accepted with no small amount of nervousness. Lying over email or the phone wasn’t too difficult but Garcia could not lie to someone face-to-face, even if it was a lie of omission. Thankfully, Will had realised Garcia must’ve had a very compelling reason to continue skirting around the real reason his fiancée wasn’t answering her phone when he kept asking so he decided to just wait for JJ to tell him when she got home, which Garcia promised should be soon.

 

Day nine was hectic. Several BAU teams were in the field, even abroad, and a few of the technical analysts scheduled for work that day had called in sick, leaving Garcia’s department short-handed so she and the other technical analysts were working overtime to try and get the information to the teams working in the field so they could catch their unsubs. Because of the lack of analysts working with her, Garcia ended up working until nearly midnight. She was grateful that, for the most part, all the agents had been understanding about how long it had taken for the information to get to them but there had been a couple who’d snapped at her, telling her the wait was unacceptable and hanging up before she could offer an explanation.

 

She’d been in a bad mood for the rest of the day after that. She knew that when a unit was in the field, it needed the information requested as soon as possible because lives were generally on the line. Every minute that passed meant the unsub was a minute closer to choosing their next victim so the quicker the team got the information, the quicker they found the unsub before they could hurt anyone. Garcia had been in such a bad mood that she’d snapped at the next agent who’d asked why it had taken so much longer than usual for her to get the required information and hung up on him before he could say anything.

 

Of course, she’d felt horrible immediately afterwards but made herself drink a cup of calming tea before calling him back to apologise. He’d been very understanding – intimately familiar with how being short-staffed affected a department – and assured her he hadn’t taken it personally and wished her a good day. The agent’s easily given forgiveness had made her feel both better and worse and she’d spent the rest of the exhausting day checking her temper and keeping her attitude as pleasant as possible.

 

She finished when a fellow technical analyst showed up and told her she was all good to go home. Thanking the man – Daniel, she thought his name was – she packed her purse up, set her systems up to alert her phone if anything urgent was sent to her then shut her computers down. Daniel walked with her, making small talk, before they parted ways when they reached his office. Garcia went the long way so she would walk through the bull-pen Morgan, Prentiss and Reid worked in and past the offices that contained Hotch, Rossi and JJ when they were working.

 

She’d been doing this every night since the team had disappeared – not entirely sure why she did so herself – and finished up her routine by glancing up at the debriefing room they’d been taken from just before she walked through the glass doors. However, unlike previous nights, something made her pause just as she rested a palm on the glass door to push it open and stare at the debriefing room a little longer. A few moments passed and she’d just been about to shake her head and chalk up her odd behaviour to exhaustion when a flash of light had her attention snapping back at the debriefing room.

 

Though she knew this was how people in the first five minutes of shows like ‘Supernatural’ ended up being brutally killed, Garcia couldn’t stop herself from marching across the room, up the stairs and along the walkway as quickly as she could in her wedged heels. The light that had caught her eye had lasted only a moment so the room was still dark when she walked towards it. Just as she reached the door to push it open and see what demon or other supernatural beast was lurking in the room, the lights flicked on and she found herself staring at her missing team. 

* * *

 

After some extremely ugly crying on her part, Garcia finally released the last agent from her strangling hug. Every single agent had been given the same treatment, including Hotch and Rossi, but none of them lacked the heart to complain about it. After all, they’d never been unable to contact Garcia for more than a few hours – a day at the most – for any of their previous cases and they’d certainly never been gone longer than a week and been unreachable the whole time.

 

“I want to know everything that happened but you all need to call people and tell them you’re back. I think Will is just about ready to try and hack my computers to get information,” Garcia told JJ once she’d calmed down enough to talk.

 

“What happened while we were gone?” Hotch asked as JJ switched her phone on so she could do as Garcia suggested. JJ groaned in frustration when the phone made a noise to tell her it was on before it made a noise none of them could identify.

 

“It’s having a heart attack,” JJ said in explanation as she waited some-what impatiently for her phone to adjust to being in service once more and to download all texts, missed calls and emails she’d accumulated in the time she’d been out of range of a cell-tower.

 

“Garcia?” Hotch prodded, trying to get her to answer his question.

 

“Right,” Garcia said, shaking her head as she struggled to contain her emotions long enough to answer his question, feeling overwhelmed again as she realised her friends were back home. “When Truth sent me back, I realised what it was telling me I needed to do. I had to create cover stories for all of you being missing. Obviously, I couldn’t fabricate a story that had you out in the field and working on another case because there were too many things I’d have to try and cover,” she started explaining. “For example, what if Strauss decided to contact the police department directly to speak with one of you and learned you weren’t there? So, I came up with individual stories for you. According to the FBI, all of you took personal or sick leave that I’ll schedule to end tomorrow when I clock on for work,” she told them.

 

“However, if you were to ask your families, all of you were working a case that was of the highest priority and required a black-out of communications. The only way they could contact you is if they went through me and even then, I would only be able to request the message be passed on. I would then claim that I never received a reply back,” Garcia went on to tell them. “If the FBI ask; Reid, you were spending time with your mother after a recent health scare. Hotch, you, Jack and Jessica fell ill. Prentiss, you went on vacation to Paris.” The black-haired agent winced a little and Garcia gave her a sheepish look. “I panicked and it was the first place I thought of when I was laying a paper-trail,” Garcia apologised and Emily huffed in laughter.

 

“What about the rest of us?” Rossi asked and Garcia got back on track.

 

“Rossi, you were taking the time to get started on your next book,” Garcia told him. “JJ, Will agreed to help cover for you. If the FBI asks, you and he were spending time with Henry as a family since everyone else was gone but you owe that man one heck of an explanation because he was about ready to hunt you down all by his lonesome. Morgan, I told them you had a family event in Chicago that you couldn’t miss.” Garcia took a deep breath as she finished talking and waited for everyone to take it in.

 

“Thank you, Garcia,” Hotch finally said. “I know you were put on the spot and had to work with no time to prepare and you performed your task extremely well.” Garcia sighed with relief. She hadn’t been certain they’d be happy with the covers she’d chosen.

 

“Thanks, Penelope,” JJ said before lifting her now-working phone and waving it a little. “I’m going to call Will now and let him now I’ll be home soon. I won’t take too long,” JJ assured them. Hotch nodded for her to go ahead and she stepped out of the debriefing room for some privacy.

 

“We’ll wait for JJ to come back before we talk about everything,” Hotch said decisively. “Garcia, can you make sure that we aren’t overheard or recorded?” Hotch asked. “Maybe so no one knows we were even here tonight?” Garcia nodded and opened her laptop bag, producing her work laptop and booting it up, wanting it done before JJ came back. 

* * *

 

 _“JJ?”_ Will’s voice sounded so unsure that JJ felt her eyes water slightly.

 

“It’s me,” JJ confirmed and heard Will’s shaky sigh on the other end of the line. “I’m so sorry, Will.”

 

 _“Where have you been? You disappeared for over a week without telling anyone but Garcia! I was so worried!”_ JJ knew the anger in Will’s voice was there because of his worry and not because he was truly angry.

 

“Please don’t freak out, darling, when I tell you what happened. Promise me you will listen without interrupting,” JJ asked, checking the hallway she was in for any eavesdroppers.

 

 _“If I wasn’t freaking out before, JJ, I am now. What happened?”_ Will asked in a demanding tone and JJ managed to bite back the reprimand she would’ve given in response to that tone.

 

“I can’t tell you everything over the phone, love. A lot of what I’d need to tell you needs to be said face-to-face so you know I’m not joking because it’s pretty fantastical, even to me and I know it’s true because I lived it,” JJ told him and heard a huff of almost-amusement.

 

 _“Baby, you’re rambling,”_ Will interrupted her and JJ couldn’t quite hide her smile.

 

“I know, I’m sorry,” JJ said before taking a deep breath. “Okay, so I guess I’m just gonna rip the band-aid off. The team and I were kidnapped almost immediately after our debrief from the last case we worked.” She heard the strangled, panicked noise Will made and ploughed over anything he could’ve said. “We’re fine! I’m fine! None of us were hurt and technically once our kidnapper gave us their reason for taking us, we agreed to help out.”

 

 _“You agreed to help your kidnapper?”_ Will asked, sounding a little faint. JJ didn’t blame him.

 

“You remember the young military officer and his commanding officer the team met during our last mission to New York then met again three months later in D.C.?” JJ asked and felt Will’s impatience for her to get to where he shouldn’t be freaking out.

 

 _“Garcia mentioned their names during one of our phone calls. I felt like she was trying to find out what I knew about them,”_ Will told her and JJ felt the familiar pang of guilt at not telling her fiancé all of the details surrounding the team’s meetings with Edward and Mustang.

 

It had caused a tense few days between the two of them after each visit because Will hadn’t made it so far up the command chain in New Orleans for no reason. He’d known JJ hadn’t told him everything and it had naturally made him a little upset that his fiancée apparently didn’t trust him enough to tell him the whole story. He’d finally accepted that it wasn’t because JJ didn’t want to tell him but because she’d given her word to someone that she wouldn’t.

 

“That’s probably because she was trying to see if I’d told you the whole story and not just the story we’d agreed to tell,” JJ said. “I promise that when I come home – which will be in a couple of hours, I swear – that I’ll tell you everything I hadn’t but for now, I’ll just tell you that we were sent to their country to help Edward clear his commanding officer’s name,” JJ told him.

 

 _“So, why couldn’t you call me while you were travelling to wherever you headed? Why make me worry for nearly ten days, going through every horrifying scenario about what could’ve been happening to you? All I had were Garcia’s assurances that you were alright but once she’d admitted that she hadn’t actually heard from you at all since you disappeared, I couldn’t help but panic all over again.”_ JJ felt her heart ache for Will. She knew that if their situations had been reversed, she would’ve been just as – if not more – frantic than he had been.

 

“I can’t answer that over the phone, Will. That’s something I need to tell you when I get home,” JJ told him, feeling her guilt grow at not being able to tell him the whole truth right away. She could feel his frustration and annoyance at not getting all of the answers he deserved right away and she didn’t blame him.

 

 _“Alright. I waited this long already. I can wait a couple more hours,”_ Will said, not sounding happy about it but was resigned to the fact that he’d have to wait. _“You will be home tonight?”_

 

“Yes. Nothing’s gonna keep me from coming home to you and Henry tonight,” JJ swore vehemently.

 

 _“Good. We both missed you,”_ Will told her, voice softening a little and JJ felt her heart warm.

 

“I missed both of you so much too,” JJ said, voice growing thick as she held back her tears, “and I am so, _so_ sorry that I couldn’t contact you to tell I was leaving.”

 

 _“I know you are, JJ. I’ll see you when you get home,”_ Will said, sounding like he wanted nothing more than for her to be there and she would freely admit that she wished she was there too.

 

“I’ll be home as soon as I can. I think Hotch just wants to bring Garcia up to speed first. We do owe her for making sure we still had jobs to come back too and that there wasn’t a kidnapping file opened on us,” JJ half-joked and Will gave another huff of almost amusement.

 

 _“Yeah, you do. She was the only reason I didn’t come to your headquarters and demand answers,”_ Will told her and JJ almost laughed at the image of Will trying to demand answers from Strauss or another higher-up.

 

“I’ll be home in a couple of hours, maybe even earlier if I can manage it,” JJ promised him once more. They exchanged reluctant goodbyes before JJ let Will hang up on her. Taking some fortifying breaths, JJ dashed away any tears that had managed to track their way down her cheeks before she placed her phone in her pocket – planning on ignoring any other messages on her phone for the moment – and headed back for the debriefing room. 

* * *

 

“Everything alright?” Morgan asked once JJ walked back through the door and she half-shrugged.

 

“As good as can be expected, I suppose. We have been missing for nine days without any way to contact our families in that time and without being given the opportunity to warn our families we’d be unreachable for several days. Despite Garcia’s best efforts to keep him calm, Will was still extremely worried about me even though she had promised him I was alright,” JJ told him. “He wants me home as soon as possible. I promised to tell him everything, including what I concealed the last two times we met Ed.” She had a look that told them she’d fight anyone who challenged her on her decision.

 

It had been a point of contention several times between everyone who’d met Edward in New York. Because of their promise to not reveal his world, the team had spent the flight back home on the jet from New York arguing about what they could tell their families and what they needed to hide. Unlike their official reports written on the case, the team had a bit more leeway in what their families could know. JJ hadn’t been alone in wanting to tell her loved ones everything with the only exceptions being about Ed and Mustang’s alchemy, home country and how they arrived and left America, but the majority of the team had thought it would be best to stick with what they’d put in the reports so there was no chance of slipping up in the future.

 

“I think it probably isn’t a bad idea for us to individually decide what to tell family this time,” Rossi said. He had been on the side of the majority, not having many people who he would tell about Edward or Mustang so he hadn’t had the possible guilt of lying to a loved one constantly to worry about. “After all, how many of our family members will believe that we were in a dead zone for nine days without having _any_ way to contact them? It’s not like we can claim we were in the Middle-East or somewhere similar because we have satellite phones and we risk a family member accidentally bringing it up to someone in the FBI because they don’t know not too,” he pointed out and Hotch sighed.

 

“We would have to be immensely careful who we tell and how much we tell them. I know you all want to say you trust every member of your family not to tell their friends even after you make it extremely clear that no one outside of the family is to know,” Hotch said when he thought someone was going to argue, “but I would prefer it if you took the time to sit down and really think if that family member would keep Amestris a secret under all possible circumstances. Whether they’d keep it to themselves if they were drunk, high, whatever the case may be. If you doubt – even for a moment – that they would, I would ask that you not tell them,” Hotch said, close to pleading with them.

 

Hotch could see the look of relief on Reid’s face, though the young doctor had tried to conceal it quickly, and he knew why it was there. It was well-known amongst the team that Reid told his mother about everything that he did, everything he heard, everyone he’d met. There were no secrets between the two of them up until their first meeting with Edward and Mustang. Hotch had taken Reid aside privately after the jet had arrived back and they’d finished with their debriefing to make sure he understood they couldn’t take the risk of an orderly or doctor coming across the letters he’d written if he did tell Diana about everything. Reid had promised to keep it from his mother but Hotch had seen how much it tore at him every time he watched the young man pen his mother a letter.

 

“Thanks, Hotch,” JJ said, most of the tension in her body disappearing now that she knew he wouldn’t try and order her to keep it quiet, especially since she’d promised to tell Will everything.

 

Hotch simply nodded in response to her thanks before turning back to the group. “Now that JJ is back, we should bring Garcia up to speed. I imagine everyone would like to go home to their own beds, not just JJ.” Everyone nodded and moved to sit around the table and that’s when Garcia noticed their bags for the first time.

 

“What do you guys have? Your go-bags were left here,” Garcia said before she seemed to remember something. “That reminds me: your go-bags are back in your offices or wherever you normally stash them,” she told them and Hotch inclined his head at her.

 

“Thank you, Garcia. To answer your question, when we were in Amestris, Edward took us to his city’s clothing stores so we could buy outfits that would blend into his world more. We also got the chance to act as tourists for a few hours and purchase gifts and souvenirs. That’s what we have in our bags,” Hotch told her. “Remind us once we’ve told you everything that we have gifts for you.” She nodded in agreement, looking excited at the prospect of gifts.

 

“To start with, once you left Truth’s plane of existence, it went on to tell us how we would be sent to Amestris to help ‘right a wrong’ and that if we succeeded in our mission, it would bring us home without charging us the toll,” Rossi told her, scowling lightly as he spoke. Garcia wanted to ask but figured she would find out later in the story. “We were forced through those gates we noticed and before we could blink, we found ourselves in the countryside.”

 

“We saw a small town in the distance so we headed for it,” JJ picked up the story, “and finally ran into someone wearing a uniform like Mustang’s. When we asked for him to contact Ed or Mustang, he asked for our travel papers to prove we were in Amestris legally. Obviously, we must have an accent over there,” JJ said and Garcia nodded.

 

“That makes sense. Ed and Mustang had accents over here so of course you guys wouldn’t have blended in,” she said logically and was rewarded with a nudge from Morgan.

 

“Look at you go, Miss Thing,” Morgan teased lightly. “You’re right though. Once the soldier realised we weren’t in the country by legal means, he arrested us and confiscated our weapons. We sat in the cell for a few hours, eventually finding out we were in Resembool and that Ed had been called but likely wouldn’t be in town until nightfall. I wish you’d been there to see the look on his face. It was priceless,” Morgan told her, chuckling lightly at the memory.

 

“So, Ed got you out?” Garcia asked, ignoring the pang of jealously she got whenever she thought of her team spending time with Edward and Mustang without her, even though she knew they didn’t really have a choice.

 

“Yeah, he did. It was pretty late when he managed it though but I think the train he’d arrived in on had been delayed and he had to escort a couple of family-friends to his grandmother’s home,” Prentiss answered. “We didn’t get to talk much that night. He basically had the soldier book us some rooms in the local hotel while he gave us the short version of what was happening before we got our weapons back and left to get some sleep before catching the morning train to Central.”

 

“So what was the reason for Truth kidnapping all of you?” Garcia asked, unable to hold back her curiousity on the matter anymore.

 

“Roughly two months after their last visit,” Hotch started saying, “a captain with the military was found dead in an alleyway, burned to death. At first it was ruled an accident but then a second body showed up, this time a State Alchemist and major. By the time the third body, a colonel, was found, the lead investigator realised they had a serial killer. The fourth and fifth victims, a brigadier-general and a major-general respectively, showed up and all the evidence pointed to only one suspect; General Mustang.”

 

“But he wouldn’t have done something like that,” Garcia immediately protested, causing Morgan to lay a soothing hand on her forearm so she wouldn’t try and figure out inter-dimensional travel to make sure no one thought that.

 

“We know,” Morgan told her. “As Hotch was saying, they had five victims and one suspect. Mustang was informally questioned about each death and formally questioned when the fifth victim, Mustang’s immediate boss, was found. Mustang was released when the generals questioning him couldn’t get a confession out of him however, a few hours after his release, a lieutenant-general Mustang wasn’t friendly with was attacked seriously enough she had to be placed in a medically-induced coma but she lived.”

 

“Well, I’m glad she did but what happened?” Garcia asked impatiently.

 

“The night before we arrived in Resembool, Mustang was arrested on the suspicion he’d committed the murders and attempted murder. He was taken into custody that late that night and his team were made aware of his arrest,” Reid said, speaking for the first time in a while. “We later found out that two generals out for Mustang to hang raided his office early the next morning before returning after lunch and coming face-to-face with Ed for the first time.”

 

“What’d Ed do?” Garcia asked, glee evident in her voice and Morgan hid his grin of amusement behind a fist.

 

“Verbally slaughtered them, from what we heard from his team,” Prentiss said, voice tinged with laughter. “Mustang had instructed his second in command, Captain Hawkeye, to have Ed sign paperwork that promoted him to lieutenant-colonel and would give him temporary control of Mustang’s team so they wouldn’t be separated. When the generals learned of that fact, they weren’t impressed. They were even less impressed to learn that Edward had a special clause in his contract that meant he only had to listen to two people above him in the military command; his commanding officer – Mustang – and the Fuhrer. This meant the generals couldn’t use their rank to make Edward obey them and they were furious from what we heard.” Garcia grinned as she imagined that scene.

 

“I would’ve paid good money to have someone video that,” Garcia said. “But what happened once you arrived?”

 

“We investigated after speaking with Fuhrer Grumman, who granted us a week to find the evidence we needed before he would grant the generals request to expedite Mustang’s trial,” Hotch told her. “The first day, Prentiss, Rossi, myself and a lieutenant Edward trusted spoke to the Fuhrer while Morgan interviewed Captain Hawkeye and Reid and JJ went over the case files with Sheska, a woman Ed and his brother knew who had a photographic memory and who had agreed to help,” Hotch explained. “After that, Edward joined us in interviewing the two generals who’d been very vocal about Mustang being guilty. Combes and Widdon hadn’t appreciated Ed’s attitude during the interview so he and I left so Rossi, Prentiss and the lieutenant would be able to finish the interview.”

 

“While they were doing that, Hawkeye, Reid and I paid Mustang a visit and interviewed him about what Hawkeye had told me during our interview. We ran into Ed and the others as they finished up with the generals,” Morgan took up the story again. “Edward, Rossi and Lieutenant Ross, the lieutenant who Ed had asked to be our liaison, then left to interview the lieutenant-general who had been attacked and was in hospital while the rest of us stayed behind.”

 

“Well, we stayed behind until we decided to go and investigate the most recent crime scenes ourselves,” Reid piped up. “The original investigating officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes, joined us. He didn’t think Mustang was guilty either but he had to arrest him because all the evidence said it was him and he was being pressured by the two generals,” Reid said when Garcia looked thunderous at the mention of Brookes. She looked less murderous upon learning Brookes had been on their side but only just. “Alphonse and Edward joined us while Rossi, Captain Hawkeye and Lieutenant Ross went and interviewed Mustang’s aunt.”

 

“His aunt also happens to be a madame for a brothel in Central,” Rossi told her and Garcia looked as stunned as he had been to find out. “The women who work for her make up Mustang’s information network so he can get information on higher-ups in the military without being caught spying.”

 

“So that’s a thing we now know,” Garcia said before shaking her head, as if to clear it. “What happened next?”

 

“We regrouped then had dinner and finished organising our plans for the next day,” JJ told her. “Edward and Captain Hawkeye met with Generals Combes and Widdon at lunch time the next day so they could execute a search warrant on Mustang’s home while we split up and investigated different avenues like the crime lab and friends, coworkers and family members of the victims. I stayed in the office and went through dozens of newspapers to see what the media knew,” JJ went on to explain.

 

“The day after that, Edward and Captain Hawkeye were asked to attend a meeting consisting of the generals in Central and Fuhrer Grumman as Combes and Widdon had decided that we wouldn’t find anything with the days we had remaining and they wanted Grumman to put Mustang on trial immediately,” Prentiss said, taking up the story this time. “Hotch went with them so he could give a report on our findings. While they did that, we followed other leads however we weren’t really getting anything more than things that might cause reasonable doubt, if the jury weren’t prejudiced.”

 

“At least, that’s what we were getting until that afternoon after Edward successfully managed to keep the remaining time promised to us,” Morgan picked up the story. “Because we suspected this killer hadn’t finished executing their plan, Ed and Captain Hawkeye had ordered us to go everywhere in pairs or groups. Alphonse escorted Captain Hawkeye that afternoon to walk her dog and they were attacked on their way back to the base.” Garcia gasped in horror and Morgan squeezed her hand reassuringly.

 

“Alphonse fought their attacker when Hawkeye was disarmed but he was eventually knocked out and Hawkeye was kidnapped,” Reid told her, wincing internally a little out how clinical he sounded. “Ed, JJ, Lieutenant Ross and I headed straight for the hospital when we got notified. Ed had already ordered some of his team to check out the captain’s apartment when her friend, who Hawkeye was staying with while we investigated, had grown worried and came to speak with Ed and the team when Hawkeye hadn’t shown up to their meeting. Ed had wanted to see if her dog was back in the apartment.”

 

“Wait, why would Ed care if the dog was back in the apartment?” Garcia asked, looking a little confused.

 

“Because if Hawkeye’s dog was in the apartment than something must’ve happened to her and Alphonse either on the way to the apartment or on the way back and we would focus our search in that area. If, however, the dog was missing as well than something happened during the walk,” JJ explained and Garcia nodded in understanding.

 

“We waited at the hospital for Al to regain consciousness and once he did, he gave us almost everything we needed to identify the person behind framing Mustang,” Reid took over the story again. “We found out from Al that they were attacked by a woman and he provided a description of the woman to a State Alchemist who then drew us a sketch. We showed the sketch to a few people but we didn’t find out her identity until we put together names we collected from several different sources and uncovered the one name present in all of them: Major Leah Belmont.”

 

“We then had her military file pulled and compared the sketch to her identification photo and they matched,” Hotch revealed. “We spent the rest of the day interviewing her commanding officer and Ed went to her known address to use his tracking array to see if he could find Hawkeye in there. When he didn’t, we asked her commanding officer whether he knew where she could be and he said her parents had owned a house on the outskirts of the city.”

 

“So, we headed back to the base so we could pull Belmont’s father’s military file and get his address,” Rossi told Garcia. “Ed had a driver take himself, Hotch, Prentiss and a member of his team to the address and confirmed there were two signatures inside, one that he recognised as Hawkeye. Once they had confirmation of where they were, we regrouped and came up with a plan to get Hawkeye out of the house and to arrest Belmont as peacefully as possible.”

 

“Brookes joined us so he could arrest Belmont, since it was his case originally and Ed didn’t want to give Combes and Widdon the chance to argue about the legitimacy of the arrest. We surrounded and guarded the perimeter of the house while Edward, Brookes and Mustang’s team entered while Belmont was busy upstairs so they could get Hawkeye out without having to fight,” Morgan said and Garcia heaved a sigh.

 

“Yeah, but knowing Ed, he got into a fight anyway, didn’t he?” Garcia asked, sounding completely resigned to the fact the answer was going to be a ‘yes’. Her complete belief that Ed had gotten into a fight had a couple of them laughing.

 

“Yes, he did,” Hotch told her and Garcia immediately went to demand a complete report on how hurt he was and if he was okay when Hotch held his hand up to stop her tirade. “He ended up with a lot of cuts and bruises, a few knife wounds to his arm, abdomen, leg and neck – all minor and the neck wound didn’t require stitches – as well as getting shot through the arm, though it was a flesh wound and only needed stitches and him to keep his arm in a sling so he didn’t accidentally rip his stitches. He’s as okay as can be expected. He was only kept in hospital for a little over half a day before they released him,” Hotch told her, trying to reassure her but she didn’t look like his calm tone was helping any.

 

“He got shot?!” She almost shrieked. “In what universe is getting shot and stabbed ‘fine’?!”

 

“Baby girl, it was a flesh wound. You heard Hotch; he didn’t even stay in hospital for the whole day. He was complaining about the fact that he couldn’t spar against his brother because he promised his doctor he wouldn’t rip his stitches this time when we left,” Morgan soothed. Garcia still didn’t look overly happy about the fact that Ed was hurt but she did calm down enough that Morgan was fairly certain she wouldn’t find a way to Truth’s domain and get to Ed herself to make sure he was alright.

 

“You sure he’ll be alright?” Garcia asked and everyone nodded. She didn’t seem overly satisfied but she accepted their assertion and decided to move the conversation along. “Was Captain Hawkeye alright? What about Alphonse?” Garcia asked, unable to help her mother-henning tendencies even though she’d never actually met the two of them.

 

“Alphonse and Hawkeye walked away with a head wound and broken arm, respectively, as their most serious injuries,” Rossi told her.

 

“Okay. What happened after the arrest? Was Mustang released?” Garcia questioned, a little worried he hadn’t been but then silently reprimanding herself for her worries. After all, if he hadn’t been released, why was her team home?

 

“Belmont was placed in the hospital as well since Ed and Hawkeye managed to get in several good hits. Once Ed was released, he asked for Mustang to be released but they had to wait for Brookes’ team to find actual evidence tying her to the crimes so they could make sure no one could argue that she was being framed in an attempt to save Mustang,” Prentiss said. “We ended up having to wait a day for his release papers to go through after the evidence was found. In that time, both Alphonse and Hawkeye were released from hospital, as was the sixth and only surviving victim, General Armstrong and Hawkeye managed to convince us and the rest of Mustang’s team to clean and reorganise his house after the mess the generals had made during their raid. Mustang took us, his entire team and both Sheska and Brookes out for dinner the night of his release to thank us for our hard work.”

 

“Of course, he didn’t actually know he was going to. Edward just told him he was and that everyone was looking forward to it so he couldn’t back out,” Morgan laughed and so did Garcia.

 

“That sounds like Ed,” she chuckled. “So how did you get home? Did Truth just kidnap you again?” She asked before startling a little when the response was a few guilty faces. “What happened?”

 

“We left Central the next day to go to Resembool so Ed, Mustang, Alphonse and Hawkeye could escort the family-friends of the two boys back home and so Edward could get his automail checked over,” Reid told her. “He ended up getting new limbs installed. I know I once thought that their automail could be one of the few areas where their world trumps ours but after watching him get his new limbs, I changed my mind. It looked so painful and he told me that getting the joints actually attached hurt far worse,” Reid revealed to them all. It was the first the other agents had heard about that and none of them looked anything less than sad for their blonde, otherworld friend.

 

“Only an hour or so after we retired for the night, Ed, Mustang and Al woke us back up. Truth had paid Ed a visit and told him what needed to happen for us to go home,” JJ said, sounding sad, which wasn’t helping Garcia’s anxiety levels. “It revealed that an alchemist would have to use the array Ed and Mustang had used to leave New York and that that alchemist would have to pay the toll.”

 

“But you said Truth told you there wasn’t a toll!” Gracia protested immediately.

 

“No, it told us _we_ wouldn’t have to pay the toll. It didn’t say a toll wouldn’t be paid at all,” Morgan scowled. “The alchemist who sent us back would be required to pay our way home.”

 

“Please tell me Ed and Mustang are alright,” Garcia begged, close to tears again but this time they wouldn’t be happy or relieved ones.

 

“They’re alright. Both of them activated the array so both had to pay a toll. In the end, they came to an agreement that each would owe Truth one favour and that Mustang would have to give up the alchemic knowledge Truth gave him the last time they’d met,” JJ told her and Garcia heaved a shaky exhale of relief as she swiped at a few stray tears.

 

“Thank god,” she sighed. “Maybe Truth will ask them to visit us as one of their favours,” she said hopefully, getting indulgent nods from everyone. She took a moment to clear her throat, swallowing back any remaining tears before staring them down. “I know you lot have deprived me of a ton of details and make no mistake, I _will_ make you tell each and every one of them some time in the future but JJ promised Will she’d be home soon and Hotch needs to get home to Jack before Jessica hunts him down and I’m sure Morgan has dozens of women to get back to after his absence,” she joked, laughing when Morgan nodded seriously.

 

“You would be absolutely correct,” Morgan said, not managing to completely hide his amused tone or smirk.

 

“If it’s alright with Will,” Hotch started saying, getting JJ’s attention in particular, “I would like to suggest that we meet up at JJ’s for lunch or dinner tomorrow to discuss everything in length since Will’s going to be told everything tonight. That way, we can catch you up completely, Garcia, and we can sort through our gear. I’m sure the FBI will survive our absence for one more day,” Hotch said dryly, causing Garcia to laugh.

 

“I’d like to see you say that again once you see the state of your desk, Hotch,” she joked. “Yours as well, JJ and Rossi.” All three of them suddenly looked like they were contemplating a very long holiday to the Bahamas or somewhere just as far away.

 

“I’ll see what Will has to say and send you all a text,” JJ promised, getting nods in return.

 

“I need to call my mum’s doctors and let them know I’m back,” Reid said, glancing up at the nearest clock before frowning. “I might have to leave them a message, though.” Morgan nudged him in the shoulder gently.

 

“Don’t worry, pretty boy. I’m sure she’s alright. You can speak to her tomorrow,” Morgan said comfortingly and Reid nodded, though he didn’t look overly happy at having to wait. No one was obtuse enough to tease him about it, knowing how close he was with his mother.

 

“Garcia, you’ll make sure the FBI doesn’t have any record of us being here tonight?” Hotch asked and she nodded, pointing to her laptop.

 

“Yup. If anyone looks at the security footage of this room or of any camera that so much as glimpses this room, they’ll find nothing but boring film to watch. I’ll make sure all cameras that catch you guys when we leave show the same thing; nothing,” she told him and he nodded.

 

“Thank you,” he said and she gave him a happy smile as she stood to make her way over to her laptop.

 

Though they still had a lot more to discuss with Garcia and had decisions to make on whether or not they would be telling their family the truth, and if so, how much of the truth, the agents couldn’t help but feeling glad to be home. They knew they’d miss Edward and Mustang even more than they had before and now they had even more people who they could call friends but would likely never see again who they’d also miss terribly but they were so happy to be back in their home, surrounded by all the familiar sights, sounds and smells.

 

“I’m really glad you guys are home. It wasn’t the same with you guys completely gone,” Garcia said as she stood next to her laptop, giving them a big, watery smile that had JJ and Prentiss grabbing her in a hug before they were nearly tugged off by Morgan, who enveloped Garcia in a massive bear-hug.

 

“We’re glad to be back, baby girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the 32nd and final chapter to this story! I would love to know what you all think to the completed story and its final chapter. I do have plans for more AMA stories, including another Voltron/FMA crossover and a crossover with CSI Miami but I won't be starting or publishing them until after Spirit Animals is completed. Thank you to everyone who had left kudos and comments on this story :) I really do appreciate them all


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